AFL legend Mick Malthouse slams 'sham' Essendon coaching hunt amid heavy James Hird push

AFL coaching legend Mick Malthouse has not held back in his assessment of the vacant Essendon coaching position, calling it a "sham".

His call comes on the back of former Essendon coach James Hird putting his hand up for the role, and the perception that it is his job to lose given his history with the club.

The Bombers legend vacated the role in 2015 during the supplement saga that rocked the club.

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However, with Brad Scott now gone, many greats of the club have thrown their support behind Hird's potential return, including the likes of Tim Watson, Kevin Sheedy and former president Paul Little.

Malthouse, who experienced a similar situation in 2012 when he was appointed coach of Carlton following the sudden sacking of Brett Ratten, did not hold back in his assessment.

"It will be a sham, it smells already," Malthouse told ABC Sport radio.

"You can almost see those that are around, those that have any sort of position have already pushed the button.

"The fact that James has said 'yeah I'd love to have the job', and there's nothing wrong with that, to say I would love the job, but I just can't see how any senior coach that's out of the game would put his hand up and go I'm going through that. It's already been decided.

"And any young bloke will go through it just for the process of understanding what it's like to be interviewed."

Later in the ABC program, they spoke to Geelong assistant coach Nathan Buckley and asked him about his potential desire to apply for the Carlton or Essendon vacancies.

The Collingwood legend refused to rule out being a part of either process, but his focus remains on the inaugural coaching role in Tasmania.

"I've been very deliberate with my intentions and coming back into this role is with the intention of giving myself an opportunity to senior coach again," Buckley said.

"So I'll explore those as they come to hand. Clearly I've made my feelings known about the Tassie Devils and how exciting I believe that project's gonna be and that journey and that remains my preference."

Buckley added that he does not share Malthouse's concerns, which have been echoed by the likes of Ken Hinkley and Adam Simpson, regarding the Bombers job.

However, he opted not to elaborate on why given his current position at Geelong.

Carlton and Essendon will aim to have new coaches in place by the end of the home-and-away season, while Tasmania has yet to put a timeline on their decision.