ESSENDON champion James Hird has congratulated his former teammate Mark McVeigh on his impending appointment as the Bombers senior coach, adding he is yet to hear from the club directly that he is an unsuccessful candidate.

As first reported by AFL.com.au on Sunday evening, McVeigh, a former teammate of Hird's at the Bombers and a current assistant coach at Sydney, is set to be appointed Essendon's next senior coach.

Hird had been vocal in putting his name in the ring to replace Brad Scott as coach, while McVeigh, Fremantle assistant Jaymie Graham and Adelaide assistant Murray Davis were also in the mix.

Hird congratulated McVeigh and also ruled out a different role with the Bombers, but said he still has a passion to coach.

"Firstly, congratulations to Mark. He's a great friend of mine and I'm very proud of him that he's going to be named the coach, so good on him," Hird said on Nine on Sunday night.

"From a personal point of view, it's very disappointing. I'm disappointed. I put my heart and soul into the effort but obviously fell short and that's the way it goes."

When asked if he had heard from the club that he had been unsuccessful, Hird replied: "Not yet. But maybe that's coming".

When asked if there had been a discussion about taking on a different role at the club, Hird said: "Not with me, so I think it's time to move onto other things."

When asked if he still has a passion to coach, Hird replied: "Yeah, I think so. I'm obviously down at Port Melbourne at the moment and we have a finals series to play. We'll see what plays out at the end of the year with some other clubs who have contacted me and we'll see what happens."

McVeigh is due to present to the Essendon board on Monday as the club zeroes in on its announcement.

There has long been an agitation among Bombers fans for club champion Hird to return to the hot seat, having missed out to Scott in 2022.

Hird first took over at Essendon in 2010 but was suspended for the 2014 season for bringing the game into disrepute for his role in the Essendon drugs saga.

He then returned to the club but resigned in August 2015 with a final record of 41 wins, 42 losses and one draw.

Hird is one of Essendon's greatest ever players, winning two premierships, the 1996 Brownlow Medal and five club best-and-fairests during his 253-game career at the Bombers.