JAMES Hird fronted a specially convened gathering of coaches on Thursday to deal exclusively with his re-admission to coach Essendon in 2015.

The meeting was held at the Bayside home of interim AFL Coaches Association CEO Mark Brayshaw.

While most, if not all, coaches were aware of the meeting, only three attended – Collingwood's Nathan Buckley, Western Bulldogs' Brendan McCartney and Gold Coast's Guy McKenna.

They were joined by Brayshaw and Essendon general manager of football Performance Neil Craig.

Brayshaw confirmed the meeting to Channel Nine.

"It was a good meeting, all part of James reconnecting with the coaches association." Brayshaw said.

"He's had 12 months out, done his time, and what we had was a warm and robust conversation, a very mature conversation."

Some coaches were unable to attend due to finals commitments or other diary clashes.

There remains a level of angst from some coaches toward Hird in relation to Essendon's supplements program of 2012.

Hird was last year suspended for 12 months for bringing the game into disrepute.

He is set to return to coach the Bombers next year, after working in an off-field role since his return in August.