Essendon sacked Brad Scott on Tuesday morning, appointing assistant coach Dean Solomon on an interim basis before immediately beginning a hunt for a permanent replacement.
Hird served the Bombers as head coach across two separate stints either side of a coaching ban in 2014 for his role in the infamous Essendon supplements saga that rocked the footy world to its core.
He returned to the club in 2015 only to resign in August of that year after the club lost 14 of their first 19 games of the season.
Some public figures tied to the Bombers have expressed a belief that Hird was hard done by in the fallout of the doping bans issued in 2013, shared by many supporters who have joined the campaign to return Hird to the club.
Hird has not served in a head coaching role in any capacity since leaving Essendon in 2015, stepping away from public life for several years to prioritise his mental health.
He was a part-time assistant coach at the GWS Giants in late 2022 when joining the staff of then-interim coach Mark McVeigh, who Hird played with at the Bombers in the 2000s.
Hird currently serves as the director of football at VFL club Port Melbourne, where his talented son Tom is bidding to make a step up to the elite level at age 25 after six years for the Bombers and Borough at state level.
The 53-year-old has also been a pundit on the Nine Network, where on Tuesday night he put his hand up to return to the Essendon senior coaching role.
“The most important thing for me as an Essendon person is for them to go through the most exhaustive process possible to find the best person,” Hird said on Tuesday night.
“If the club came to me and asked if I would be part of that process, I would definitely say yes.
“It is something I’d love to be part of, to pit my wares against the other coaches and see if I’m the best man for the job.
“If I’m the best man for the job, yes I would love to do that job.
“If I’m not, choose the best man and let’s go forward and make it the best club in the AFL again.”
Hird described the "spirit" around the Essendon Football Club as "at ground zero", a sentiment shared by legendary coach Kevin Sheedy who has led the charge for Essendon President Andrew Welsh to get onto the phone and call Hird.
"I think he does (still love Essendon) and I think he’ll do anything to make sure he gets this right this time around if he ever gets it,” Sheedy said on SEN on Wednesday morning.
“But he may not get it, there might be people at Essendon that may never want him to coach Essendon. I don't know who they are, but I think in the end the people and the fans most likely do.
“I don't know what the sort of feeling is around town but I would think that if he got a chance he wouldn't muck this one up.
“We all know how long and how hard it is to find a coach who can win you a premiership because I think Melbourne went through about 13 or 14 after Norm Smith and Richmond went through about six or seven in 10 years.
“Without pushing Hird’s barrow, if he was wanting to go and coach the job, I would vote for him in my membership vote, simple as that, if you get a chance."