COLLINGWOOD great Nathan Buckley has revealed he still has the coaching bug and is intrigued by the prospect of joining the Tasmania Devils as their inaugural head coach.
Buckley coached the Magpies for almost a decade, leading them to the 2018 Grand Final before stepping down in 2021.
The 52-year-old, who has since moved into the AFL media, has met with Devils chief executive Brendon Gale to discuss a senior role with the expansion club.
Tasmania has a licence to enter the AFL in 2028 and plans to enter a team in the VFL next season.
“There’s a chance,” Buckley told SEN on Monday when asked if he could coach the Devils, adding he had met Gale twice last year.
“The initial one (contact) was from him and then the second one was from me to understand the challenge that the Devils faced and how they are going to build that club.
“To put my two cents’ in, I suppose, and then to learn as much as I possibly could about it.
“There’s a couple of really good football people I believe would go really well down there. I put their names forward and put them in front of Brendon.”
Experienced recruiter Scott Clayton was also made a part-time future talent consultant.
Buckley is “still exploring” what the challenge of coaching Tasmania would look like.
“That coaching bug is still there, (but) I’m really enjoying what I’m doing at the moment,” Buckley said.
“So to understand more about the Devils is to understand whether you think it fits and whether you’re energised by it.
“That challenge is so different to what I’ve experienced.”
Mick Malthouse and Nathan Buckley during Collingwood’s 2011 preliminary final win over Hawthorn. Picture: AFL Photos
Buckley is yet to taste the ultimate success as a player or senior coach at AFL level.
He twice captained Collingwood in losing grand finals against Brisbane (2002-03) and coached the Magpies in their Grand Final loss to West Coast in 2018.
Buckley was an assistant to coach on Mick Malthouse’s staff when the Pies won the 2010 premiership.
“If you go back into coaching you want to win a flag,” Buckley said.
“The pragmatic version would be, ‘No, that won’t happen, you’re setting it up to leave a legacy for generations down the track’.
“I understand that as well. That’s all part of it (the decision-making process).”
