The Scottish FA wanted to appoint Ferguson while allowing the 67-year-old to continue with his job at Manchester United.
Sir Alex Ferguson rejected the opportunity to manage Scotland on a part-time basis for the second time in his career before George Burley was appointed to the role last January.
A direct inquiry was made by the Scottish Football Association's board after Alex McLeish departed for Birmingham City, with a view to appointing Ferguson while allowing the 67-year-old to continue with his job at Manchester United. However, it quickly became apparent that Ferguson was not willing to return to international football and it seems certain one of Scotland's finest managers will never work in the country again.
Ferguson was part of the Scotland coaching staff when they qualified for the 1986 World Cup. He stepped into the manager's position on a caretaker basis after the death of Jock Stein and led the Scots in Mexico. To simplify the dual roles, Ferguson had at the time appointed Archie Knox as his co-manager at the pair's club, Aberdeen.
His time with Scotland ended with his move to United but it has been a long-held criticism of the SFA that it had apparently never tried to lure him back to lead the international side. That move was made in early 2008, only to be met with an instant refusal. A shortlist of Burley, Graeme Souness, Mark McGhee and the late Tommy Burns was subsequently drawn up.
Ironically, Scotland's oldest rivals have targeted Ferguson as a potential manager on three occasions. David Davies, the former executive director of the Football Association, revealed a year ago that he pinpointed Ferguson to succeed Terry Venables, Glenn Hoddle and Kevin Keegan as England manager, a possibility Ferguson rejected each time.
Ferguson has made it clear he would not take on another job in club football when he severs ties with United. It had been suggested he would manage the Great Britain football team in the 2012 Games but, following a battle between the home nations' football associations, the playing and coaching staff are set to be English.
It is widely accepted Burley will be removed from the manager's job if his team do not beat Macedonia on Saturday and Holland four days later, leaving Scotland almost certain to miss out on a World Cup play-off place. Gordon Strachan is the favourite to replace him but it remains to be seen if the former Celtic manager retains his interest in a job for which he was overlooked in 2004. Walter Smith, a former Scotland manager, may be a candidate with his contract at Rangers due to expire at the beginning of next year although the SFA says a provisional list of candidates has not been compiled.