Port Adelaide champion Kane Cornes has proposed the idea of trading coaches, naming Magpies mentor Nathan Buckley and four-time premiership Hawks boss Alastair Clarkson as an ideal swap for both parties.
Buckley is unsigned past this season and flagged earlier this week that he would be happy to move on from his post should it be best for Collingwood.
With the Magpies having also insinuated that contract negotiations with their club great will be held off until after the 2021 season, there remains to be a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the 48-year-old's head.
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Clarkson remains in a similar position despite being contracted for the 2022 season, as the Hawks work their way through unfamiliar territory under the coaching mastermind and looking to rebuild.
With the Magpies list needing a tweak or two to place themselves back into premiership contention and the Hawks requiring an injection of youth, Cornes has put forward a transaction that would see both coaches swap places.
"The opportunity for Clarkson to join another Victorian powerhouse, who are in the AFL window, would surely be enticing," Cornes wrote.
"How does Buckley plus a first-round draft pick to Hawthorn for Alastair Clarkson sound?
"[Buckley] would have the time and patience to revamp the Hawthorn list and get them back in premiership contention within three years.
"The ability to trade coaches would have far-reaching positive ramifications for coaches, who due to the pandemic have lost nearly all of their bargaining power."
Clarkson first joined the Hawks in 2005 and has since won 221 matches from his 368 meetings in the coaches box.
Buckley worked under Collingwood premiership coach Mick Malthouse before taking over the reigns in 2012, going on to win 113 of his 205 games in charge of the Magpies.
Surprisingly, Clarkson has never won an AFLCA Coach of the Year Award, while Buckley was voted as the winner in 2018.
