Just a day after club CEO Ian Robson resigned over the supplements scandal, and with external pressure rising on Hird's position, the coach reaffirmed his desire to remain with his beloved Bombers.
"I'm the coach of the Essendon Football Club, I love coaching the club, I intend to coach them for a long time; and coach them for the supporters, the players and everyone involved," he told reporters at Windy Hill on Friday.
"I love doing it, I love coaching these players, and I love working with the people I work with: the coaches, my colleagues, the supporters. And I intend to keep coaching."
The coach has also received some support from AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou.
Demetriou said Hird was entitled to wait until the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority completed its investigation into the Bombers' 2012 supplements program before deciding whether he should follow Robson's lead and resign.
When news broke in February of ASADA's investigation into Essendon's supplements program, Hird told a press conference he would take "full responsibility" for whatever happened in his football department.
But Demetriou told Melbourne radio station 3AW on Friday morning Robson's resignation was not a signal Hird would eventually have to follow suit.
"He, like other people at that club, is entitled to await the outcome of the ASADA investigation," Demetriou said of Hird.
"That is going through its final stages, as I understand it, with the players.
"We're not that far away from concluding the interviews and on that basis they will then have an opportunity to submit their report.
"The Switkowski report was about corporate governance and it went to the heart of who was accountable in so far as the corporate governance of that club and that's why Ian Robson quite rightly accepted responsibility as the CEO.
"We do need to get the ASADA report finalised and hear what the outcomes are because at the end of the day I've got no doubt that they will uncover the truth and that's when we'll hear more."
Meanwhile, the Bombers have named former Tattersalls boss Ray Gunston as their interim CEO.
The Essendon board met for four hours on Thursday to approve Gunston'sappointment and he will take on the job for the remainder of the seasonwhile a permanent CEO is found for the club.
Hird said he was "very disappointed" by Robson's departure.
"In all my dealings with Ian, he's (been) a man of high integrity, agood person, (with) a fantastic family, and it's disappointing for heand his family," he said. "The issue is for the board, and I'm here tocoach the club … and I fully support the board's decision.
"I know Ray from previous dealings outside of football," Hird said.
"I think Ray's a fantastic person who will do a great job. I think thatit's something the club have obviously spent a bit of time thinkingabout."
Asked about suggestions that members of the club's football department,including himself, were more responsible than Robson for the allegeddoping scandal, Hird said: "the Switkowski report came out, there'sactions out of the report that are going on at the moment, theinvestigation with (ASADA) is currently (taking place), and speakingabout the issues to come out of (ASADA) would be inappropriate."
"We've given an undertaking we won’t do that until after the ASADA report comes out."
Hird conceded it had been difficult for players to focus on their football, given they are still being interviewed by ASADA.
"We can’t deny it's a distraction, because it has been," he said. "Imean, this is not a normal weekly routine for football, but the majorityof those interviews are now done, the players have now got through thatpart of the process. ASADA will go away and contemplate their report,but for us now it's about playing football."
Hird also confirmed on Friday that star forward Michael Hurley was "100 certain to play" in the Dreamtime at the 'G clash against Richmond on Saturday night.
"He was tested on Monday and Tuesday with the concussion test and the doctor's very happy that he's ready to go," said Hird.
