James Hird has described his shock at a report suggesting he wants a return as Essendon coach.
The 52-year-old coached the Bombers for 85 games between 2011 and 2015, resigning as team performance plummeted after the supplement scandal that engulfed the club.
Following Essendon's 91-point defeat to the Bulldogs on Saturday night, Channel 7's Caroline Wilson reported Hird was keen on an eventual return as Bombers coach, with his former club chairman Paul Little driving the idea.
However, speaking on Footy Classified, Hird denied the veracity of Wilson's report, declaring he hadn't recently communicated with Little full stop.
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"It's news to me and I haven't spoken to Paul Little for months," Hird said.
"I nearly fell off the couch when I heard it."
Interestingly, Little released his own statement to Channel 7 which didn't deny he wanted to lead Essendon once again with Hird as the coach.
Little said "you never say never to anything" and that there "may come a time when there is a need for a restructure".
"If I felt I could add value to the club, and if they felt I could help, then I would consider it."
Current Essendon coach Brad Scott is contracted until the end of 2027 but has regularly been under pressure in recent seasons.
Since taking over the club in 2023, the Bombers finished 11th in both of Scott's completed campaigns, while they sit 10th on the ladder currently.
Essendon had won five of their last six games before the capitulation against the Bulldogs, but the victories came against struggling teams such as Port Adelaide, Melbourne, West Coast, North Melbourne and Sydney.
The Bombers face a highly-winnable encounter on Saturday night in the Dreamtime clash against Richmond at the MCG.