James Hird's future as Essendon coach has not been decided

JAMES Hird will coach Essendon against Carlton on Saturday night, but beyond that has not been decided.

JAMES Hird will coach Essendon on Saturday night, but beyond that has not been decided.

Nor has it been agreed to by the club and the AFL that the Bombers would stand down from playing in this year's finals series.

As a resolution draws near - it could come as early as Monday - the final charges and penalties are still being discussed between the Bombers and the AFL.

Bombers sorry for mistakes made

How can Essendon beat Carlton?

There is a strong possibility the team will lose its points, meaning Carlton or North Melbourne could be promoted to eighth spot.

An Essendon insider told the Herald Sun the wording of the charges was still being determined, and that nothing yet had been signed off from the Bombers' end.

The club refuses to concede it is a drug cheat.

Harvey doesn't want Hird's job

As well as stripping the club of points, suspensions to Hird and head of football Danny Corcoran are part of the league's proposal.

James Hird

Any penalties for club doctor Bruce Reid and assistant coach Mark Thompson were unknown.

Draft picks were also being discussed, which the Bombers are arguing strongly to keep.

The Bombers have agreed that litigation would do untold damage to themselves and the competition, a point hammered home to Essendon chairman Paul Little by his fellow club presidents at a meeting on Thursday.

Hird maintained he wanted to remain in charge at Windy Hill, but the Herald Sun understands Hird has a range of options to consider.

One of which is, if he continues to take legal action against the AFL, then he almost certainly won't be coaching as legal action progresses.

In turn, if Hird abandons his legal stoush and chooses to remain as coach, he will have to accept a penalty for what occurred under his watch during the 2011 and 2012 seasons.

In effect, Hird would need to choose between himself and fighting to unveil the truth as he sees it, or the club that wants an out-of-court settlement with the AFL, which would include a length of suspension for the coach.

Either way, Hird is in a difficult situation.

His hopes of remaining coach if he continues to fight the AFL are close to zero.

He is considering arguing that legal action against the league would not go longer than four days, and that he would step down while those proceedings took place.

He was adamant he wanted to expose the AFL's role in the supplements saga, detailed in his Supreme Court writ lodged on Thursday.

His lawyers are of the belief that Hird would win his case against league headquarters.

On Friday night, he was in talks with legal representatives.

Despite criticism of his self-centred actions in recent days, Hird's paramount interest is in the players and the club.

He is yet to decide if he would return to the club if, in fact, he did accept a suspension.

The club also hasn't fully considered a replacement for him.

AFL Commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick has been a major player in brokering a deal with Little, who has been in constant talks with AFL deputy chief executive officer Gil McLachlan this week.

The Bombers have also conveyed to senior figures at the AFL their misgivings about the role the AFL has played in the drugs scandal, which includes its knowledge of the status of the drug, AOD-9604, from February.

It also includes the Bombers' belief the league has leaked critical information to media outlets.