Retired footy legend James Hird makes a huge career decision after an attempt to return to the AFL ended in heartbreak

Essendon icon James Hird is returning to TV screens as part of Channel Nine’s football coverage following his failed attempts to break back into the AFL coaching ranks.

The retired star, whose illustrious career with the Essendon Bombers as a player and coach was marred by controversy, will take part in TV show Footy Furnace on Sunday evening alongside AFL reporter Tom Morris and Cats great Jimmy Bartel.

Hird replaces another football legend, Leigh Matthews, who has left the show.

“I missed the game,” Hird told Nine. ‘The game is a great game, but I certainly didn’t miss the publicity. The time feels good.

“Every player and every coach are scrutinized all the time. It’s the biggest thing happening in the city, and it’s good to be back and be a part of it.”

The AFL media landscape has undergone a major shake-up in recent weeks and Hird’s signing is part of Nine’s bid to revitalize its footy programming following the departure of some big names.

The big Bombers left Windy Hill under a dark cloud almost a decade ago over the infamous drug supplement saga.

With Hird at the helm, Essendon were at the center of one of the biggest scandals in the history of Australian sport, with 34 players found guilty on appeal of using performance-enhancing drugs during the 2012 AFL season.

Footy legend James Hird (pictured) joins Channel Nine’s football coverage

Hird worked as an assistant coach at Greater Western Sydney in 2022

The big Bombers left Windy Hill under a dark cloud almost a decade ago due to the infamous supplements saga

Four years later, the AFL suspended the players involved in the scandal for 12 months, while 2012 Brownlow Medalist Jobe Watson was stripped of his coveted medal.

Hird later admitted to being ‘naive’ as a head coach and trusting ‘bad’ people – and to having been a recluse in recent years.

Stephen Dank and Dean Robinson were Essendon’s sports scientist and high-performance coach respectively during the supplement saga.

‘I trusted the people I asked to do things, but they didn’t. [I was] a bit naive,” Hird previously told the Howie Games podcast.

“What is most disturbing is that there are 34 players who have done absolutely nothing wrong and their families and they have suffered enormously as a result – and that includes the Essendon supporters.”

Hird did apply for the role of head coach at the Bombers after Ben Rutten was transferred in 2022, after which chairman David Barham chose Brad Scott.

He was also close to taking on the coaching role at VFL club Port Melbourne, but decided to become director of coaching due to business commitments.

It is unknown whether he will continue in the role now that he has been given the job at Nine.

After retiring as a one-club player in 2007, Hird coached the Bombers in 85 games, managing them from 2011-2013 and then for 19 games in 2015.

The former champion midfielder won the 1996 Brownlow Medal plus the 2000 Norm Smith Medal and played in two premiership teams.