Collingwood general manager of football Graham Wright has spoken on the club's plans to fill the senior coaching vacancy left by Nathan Buckley.
Buckley announced he and the Magpies would part ways early last month, with the club now sorting through an extensive list of candidates.
Former AFL coaches Brad Scott, Michael Voss, Don Pyke and Mark Williams have been linked to the role, while Richmond assistant Adam Kingsley is also understood to be in the running.
While the race for the Collingwood job is beginning to take shape, Wright conceded a decision isn't likely to come soon as the board faces an unclear timeframe.
"We haven't put a time frame on it to be honest," Wright told 7 News. "It will take as long as it takes.
"With the COVID situation that we have now it makes it difficult to talk to people, but we are having a lot of conversations and will aim to get it done by hopefully mid-September.
"At this stage we haven't put a real timeframe on it.
"We just want the best person to lead the Collingwood football club into the future. We're really confident we'll get a high-quality person."
Current interim coach Robert Harvey was initially believed to be in consideration to succeed his former senior in Buckley.
However, Wright has stated that Harvey is yet to officially show his interest in the role as the two parties continue discussions.
"We have discussed it," Wright added. "We haven't gone into exactly whether he wants to put his hand up right at this stage.
"We said we'd check up on that toward the end of the season and see whether he want to.
"He's doing a good job in difficult circumstances with the injuries we've had, overall he's done well."
Wright, who switched over to the Holden Centre at the beginning of this year following a successful tenure at Hawthorn, said the recent remarks from Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson have sent a clear message.
"At this stage Clarko has made it really clear he's staying at Hawthorn," he said.
Clarkson is set to step away from the Hawthorn job at the conclusion of the 2022 season, meaning any interest from the Magpies falls in an untimely window.
Collingwood's sudden vacancy in their senior coaching position has added speculation that Clarkson could depart the Hawks prior to his set handover date with Sam Mitchell.
However, both Clarkson and Mitchell have responded to media claims that the pair have not seen eye-to-eye in the opening weeks of their succession plan, ruling out any reported rift between them.
Collingwood's 28-point loss to Port Adelaide on Friday night now has the club occupying 15th place on the ladder, with a 5-13 record - with Harvey currently amassing a 1-4 start to his tenure.