North Melbourne will not stand in the way of Brad Scott if he wants to leave the Roos for another club, according to journalist Damian Barrett.
Scott has been at North since 2010, and led them to back-to-back preliminary final appearances in 2014 and 2015.
With Nathan Buckley and Rodney Eade both under pressure at their current positions, Scott's name has been touted as a possible successor to lead either Collingwood or Gold Coast next season.
While Scott is contracted until the end of 2018, Barrett told The Footy Show on Thursday night the Roos will allow Scott to coach elsewhere should he decide to.
"The Roos are prepared to commit long-term to Brad Scott, who is currently contracted until the end of 2018, and they're prepared to push that out," Barrett said.
"However, should he field and offer from a rival club, the Roos will not stand in Brad Scott's way to explore that particular situation.
"So the situation is clearly in Scott's control, and North Melbourne will let it play out organically, there's no rush in its eyes to foresee and jump into the situation, they'll wait until the end of the year."
Scott has a 51.45% winning percentage from his 173 games in charge of the Roos, and has won four out of eight finals.
