THE BALL is in James Hird's court after Fremantle confirmed it had offered the former Bomber the chance to join its coaching staff.
The Dockers earlier this month said they were considering the Essendon icon to fill the vacant opposition analyst role but coach Ross Lyon has now revealed Hird is "an absolute priority".
"It's great for us because it'll help us win and I think it's a nice little entree that could lead to greater and better things for James again," Lyon told the Seven Network on Wednesday.
Hird quit Essendon as coach during 2015 after the club's drawn-out supplements saga, which resulted in 34 past and present players being banned for the 2016 season.
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He was welcomed back into the AFL fold at last year's Grand Final when he presented the Norm Smith Medal to Richmond star Dustin Martin.
Lyon said he didn't go cap in hand to Hird, but was effusive in praising the Brownlow medallist and premiership captain.
"You've been a great player and I love you as a player and a coach, and this is a role," he said of the pitch to Hird.
"It's more for you to decide if you want to do that."
The AFL has stated it won't impede Hird if he wants to join a club in an official capacity.
James Hird presented the Norm Smith Medal to Dustin Martin last season. Picture: AFL Photos
Tim Watson, who played with Hird in the 1993 premiership side, said the highly ambitious 45-year-old would feel like there was "unfinished business" following his 2015 departure.
"The first way that he can get back into football would be maybe to tip his toe into the water with this, and that might lead into other opportunities," Watson said on SEN on Thursday.
Stephen Lennie, the Dockers' opposition analyst and pro scout for the past nine years, joined St Kilda earlier this month.
That led Fremantle to consider whether it should have a part-time opposition analyst based in Melbourne – a role that would suit Hird.
