"In 2002,I fractured my skull and required multiple metal plates in my head. I,for one,would prefer multiple skull fractures to the feeling of deep clinical depression. My first call to beyondblue in 2015 was an admission I needed help but it took until January 4,2017,when I took too many sleeping tablets,to truly accept that I could not dig myself out of this hole."
Hird said that four years as a senior coach and two in the wilderness had changed his perspective on life and the game.
"I was not a student of the football in 2016,and have some catching up to do,but I look forward to engaging with footy people again and immersing myself in the great game of AFL."
In the wake of the suspension of Essendon players after the doping scandal that happened during Hird's tenure as coach,Hird said he hoped that his old club could again find form on the field.