Collingwood legend Nathan Buckley has been quizzed once more on his openness to coaching Melbourne in 2026, revealing he feels “more particular” about the process of becoming a senior coach once more.
As the Demons narrow their coaching options down to five contenders, Fox Footy expert Buckley continues to be seen as the raging favourite for the role.
Buckley, Brendon Lade, Hayden Skipworth, Steven King and James Kelly are the handful of names Melbourne will select from, nearly four weeks after premiership coach Simon Goodwin was sacked.
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Speaking to On The Couch on Monday night, Buckley detailed that while he is among the shortlist of preferred replacements for Goodwin, he is still very much thinking critically about what’s next for him.
“I’m still going through my process, which I can speak to, but take Melbourne on face value on who they’re interviewing — of which I’m a part of that group” Buckley began.
“It is very different (potentially coaching a second time around), you’re looking at different things … (though) I’ve never been through a process like this before either.
“The succession plan at Collingwood was pointing in the right direction … I’m sitting back and prosecuting this a bit more on different levels.
“It’s very different. I’m probably more particular, and definitely more conscious on what can, and cannot work. It’s not ‘X’s and O’s’”
Buckley coached the Magpies for nearly 10 full seasons since his maiden year at the helm in 2012, with his replacement of premiership coach Mick Malthouse at the end of 2011 well-documented.
An assistant coach at the club before his elevation, the application process this time around will be very different for the 2002 Norm Smith Medalist.
“Nathan will be part of a group of (five) who will progress through to those formal interviews. Some of them will take place this week, some of them next week given that some of those applicants are in finals over the next couple of days,” Fox Footy reporter Jon Ralph said prior to Buckley’s comments.
“There’s a chance that one of those candidates still might pull out, one of them is still thinking: ‘Am I a realistic chance to try and win this job?’
“All I would say is, Melbourne is absolutely insistent (that): ‘We wouldn’t have put this quality panel together if it was going to be a boat race, and certainly there is no preordained outcome there’.
Intriguingly, 20 of the last 21 premiership coaches have been first-time coaches, however over 25 or more first-timers have sunk “without a trace” in the words of Ralph.
Buckley departed Collingwood after Round 13 in 2021 with a winning percentage of 54.85% from 112 games coached, and fell agonisingly short of a flag in the 2018 Grand Final against West Coast.
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