Updated July 14, 2026 — 9:16pm,first published 11:32am
Jake Niall
Former champion and coach James Hird had his first meeting with the Essendon hierarchy on Tuesday in his bid to regain the coaching job he last held more than a decade ago.
Hird met with Essendon’s coaching panel, headed by club president and his former teammate Andrew Welsh and the chief executive Tim Roberts as the Bombers begin their initial conversations with candidates for the coaching position in 2027.
Essendon have said they will talk to about 10 prospective coaches over a two-week period, but they are yet to indicate if they have a preference for a first-time coach with experience as an assistant or for a candidate who has already held the reins of a club.
