AFL legend James Hird on verge of a shock footy comeback after his last attempt to get back into the game after drugs scandal ended in heartbreak

Footy legend James Hird is poised to make a sensational return to coaching next season with highly regarded VFL club Port Melbourne.

Hird, 51, previously worked as an assistant coach at Greater Western Sydney in 2022 with close mate Mark McVeigh and last coached at AFL senior level in 2015 with Essendon.

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

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

Four years later, the AFL suspended the players involved in the scandal for 12 months, while 2012 Brownlow medallist Jobe Watson had to return his coveted medal.

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

Stephen Dank and Dean Robinson served as Essendon’s sports scientist and high-performance coach respectively during the supplements saga.

‘I trusted the people I asked to do things and they weren’t. [I was] a bit naïve,’ Hird previously told the Howie Games podcast.

Hird (pictured, middle, with wife Tania – right – and three of their children) previously worked as an assistant coach at Greater Western Sydney in 2022 and last coached at AFL senior level in 2015 with Essendon

The Bombers great left Windy Hill almost a decade ago under a dark cloud due to the infamous supplements saga (pictured in 2015 after announcing his resignation)

‘The thing that is the most upsetting is there’s 34 players who have done absolutely nothing wrong and their families and them have suffered hugely for it – and so have the Essendon supporters.’

Hird did apply for the head coaching role at the Bombers after Ben Rutten was moved on in 2022 – only to see chairman David Barham opt for Brad Scott.

Many footy fans and pundits felt Hird wouldn’t ever again consider a head coaching role after he felt ‘betrayed’ by Barham – but the chance to coach his son Tom at state league level with Port Melbourne is believed to be why he is eyeing off a return.

Current head coach Adam Skrobalak informed the playing group this week he is moving to Queensland in the off-season.

The famed VFL club also want to move in another direction after winning just five games to date this year.

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

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