While many have been quick to dismiss James Hird’s chances of becoming the next Essendon coach, David King believes he’s as good a chance as any.
The Bombers legend departed as coach in 2015 following the supplements scandal, but is on a short list of candidates being interviewed for the job.
King praised Hird for having the bravery to put his hand up for the role.
“It’s a courageous thing to do, isn’t it,” the North Melbourne great told SEN’s The Picks.
“It’s an unbelievable thing to do and only someone who thinks they could deliver upon that appointment would do such a thing.
“I love it. I’m a James Hird fan. I’ve seen him under the bright lights coaching in game with the role at Fox. I think he had a lot of great relationships and was building great relationships with players.
“Okay, don’t hammer me for what went wrong at the end, I think he was let down by a few people, you could argue whether he should have known certain things.
“Football clubs are now very different things to what they were when James was coaching. Those sorts of things wouldn’t slip through the cracks anymore.
“I don’t know where I sit on it. I could see him coaching Essendon.”
Kane Cornes put a line through Hird’s chances for tactical reasons, given he has been out of the game since 2015, minus a brief part time stint at GWS this year.
King however completely disagrees.
“I dismiss that issue ‘oh he’s been out of the game for seven years’. Just because you haven’t moved magnets, I don’t think you lose your intel for the game,” he said.
“The game has changed structurally fractionally. If that were shortcoming, how long would that take to gather? About four weeks? Seriously.
“He can build relationships like no other. Imagine having James Hird as your coach.
“Not necessarily the intricacies of how to play, but different things, challenging in a different way – he’s a bit of a lateral thinker, I’ve seen some of his stuff.
“I think he’s a real chance. I think he’s a live chance.”
Adem Yze, Brendon Lade and Dean Solomon are others who have been confirmed for interviews for the Essendon coaching position.