At every press conference since the season started, Hird has been asked, in different ways, if the side has surpassed his expectations. Each time, he has heaped praise on the players, on their ability to learn, on their desire to improve.
Each week, he says, is a bigger challenge than the last because the last challenge has already been. He doesn't dwell on things - positive or negative - at least not publicly.
The hype around the club - a fervent excitement unseen since the end of last millennium and the beginning of this one - and its revised game style, changed outlook and group of apparently rising stars, has been accredited to Hird and his super coaching panel. Undoubtedly the coaches have played their part.
But the real change - and its greatest impact - has come from the development of several players who had no influence last season under Matthew Knights: Kyle Hardingham, Stewart Crameri, Tom Bellchambers and, of course, Dyson Heppell.
What comes first the chicken (the coaches) or the eggs (the players)?
Whichever way you consider that question, this quartet of youngsters has played its role in changing how the mechanics of Essendon work under Hird, each of them in different ways. Individually, too, they have all added different streaks of influence.
The influence of Crameri, at least on the surface, has been most profound. He has great hands, kicks well, he knows where the goals are, and he has a burst of extreme pace.
Last year, he was playing mainly as a defender, midfielder or tagger for Bendigo in the VFL. A standout pre-season has been rewarded with a new role as a leading target up forward and new opportunities.
Hardingham was drafted as a defender. When he was taken in the pre-season draft - one pick ahead of Michael Barlow at Fremantle - he was asked how he played his football. He said he liked to think he was a "general" in defence.
But last year, after Barlow had already taken the competition by storm, Hardingham meandered through VFL matches, thrown into the line-up as a forward.
Teammates described him as an all-rounder, but maybe that was a weakness rather than a positive, for this season, since playing every NAB Cup game and the opening five rounds deep in defence, Hardingham is settled.
His spring, his bounce, and his verve from the backline has added new energy to the Essendon defence. Whenever the ball is in the air, he spoils. When it hits the ground, he's there. Against Carlton he totally negated Eddie Betts. Against Collingwood, he provided cover for his teammates while keeping a string of smaller Magpie forwards under control. He's playing with confidence, a confidence instilled through the knowledge he has a committed role, and he has the support of the match committee.
The rise of Bellchambers has been monumental. He is now Essendon's best ruckman, its central point when kicking out from a behind, its most dominant tap-out specialist. His has been a gradual development. He works closely with one of his two partners - David Hille - after every game, dissecting what he did, what he could do better, and what he is doing well. No doubt the conversation goes both ways.
Heppell's emergence speaks for itself. At a training session in November, only weeks after he was drafted by the Bombers, he spoke of how exciting it was to be playing at Essendon. He attacked every drill with vigour, and a smile.
His first five AFL games have been played in the same spirit. An early mistake against Collingwood cost his side a goal, but it didn't stop him from taking risks.
In the last quarter he went back with the flight and marked in front of Leigh Brown. Later, he spun out of a tackle with a blind turn, and kicked on his non-preferred foot to Patrick Ryder. His was a game of substance.
In many ways, it's naïve to suggest that luck hasn't played its part in Essendon's sharp turnaround. Two of these players were drafted in the pre-season draft, when others had overlooked them at least once, if not twice. Many such picks never come off.
Crameri came off the rookie list - technically, he's still on it, but elevated - and Heppell slid to pick eight after questions were raised over a groin injury which, in truth, never existed.
It is easy to put the differences of Essendon this year as distinct from last purely down to the change of coach and coaching panel, and their impact has been huge in ways that are not to do with game plans, or respect for the former champions of the club.
Simply playing these players, in different areas, in different ways, for longer periods, with confidence in their ability, has been a significant change. Talent has been identified, and it has been encouraged.
That, right there, might be Hird's greatest influence.
Callum Twomey covers Essendon news for afl.com.au. Follow him on Twitter at @Cal_Twomey.
