Nathan Buckley says he'd take the Tasmania senior coaching job now, if it was offered to him.
Buckley has been tipped as the Devils' first senior coach, given his availability as well as his tactical nous and standing in the game.
He joined Geelong as an assistant coach ahead of the 2026 season, taking his time away from the media commitments on Fox Footy to get back into the swing of coaching.
"I have openly said, I would take the Tassie job if it was offered to me right now," Buckley said on the Footy and Friends podcast hosted by Dyl Buckley.
"Because I've got my head around that I think that would be an amazing journey to go on.
"They know where I'm at. They've got decisions to make. But that led me to a phone call from Geelong, was pretty much, 'do you want to come? It seems like you want to get back into coaching, do you want to come and work with us?
View this post on Instagram
"And within six days of the phone call, we've put it all together."
Buckley spoke about how Melbourne came to him with the proposition of leading the club, but ultimately selecting Steven King as the main man.
"My purpose isn't to win a premiership. My purpose would be to help people along their journey, (to) find out how good you can make an environment, how much you can support people," Buckley said.
"Tassie would tick that box. Melbourne came around (last year) ... but I just couldn't quite put that together. I made the point that it's not the first time I'll coach, but it will be the last. I was still kicking tires and working out whether it was something I wanted to do, as they were working out whether I was a legitimate candidate."
Buckley previously coached Collingwood for 10 years after a glittering player career in the black and white.
He inherited a strong side following the departure of Michael Malthouse, taking over in 2012 and reaching the grand final in 2018.
Buckley was also a seven-time All-Australian, six-time Copeland Trophy winner, Brownlow Medallist, Norm Smith Medallist, Rising Star winner and AFLCA champion player of the year.
