Amid much banter between the two great mates who have a combined seven premierships as senior coaches,both men endorsed Craig McRae as a strong candidate for the vacant Collingwood coaching position.
McRae is considered the frontrunner among the candidates who have been interviewed by the Magpies so far,but they are still awaiting an answer from Clarkson and Don Pyke as to whether they are interested in the role.
Clarkson didn’t directly answer when asked whether he would field a call from the Magpies or Carlton,the latter expected to sack David Teague as early as Sunday,butmaintained he was still leaning towards a year off.
“I have enjoyed this caper for 17 years. As I said … unfortunately,what has been said in the last three or four weeks,hasn’t ended up materialising over the following couple of days,” Clarkson said on Saturday.
“It’s difficult to say … but my intention is to have a spell from the game to assess. My family and the extended network around me … have made an enormous sacrifice for me to do what I have done for the last 17 years. It’s not just 17 years,I have been chasing this AFL dream for 45 years … I have been coaching the last 25.
“I am happy to pass the baton on to ‘Mitch’ as the next coach of our footy club. To be fair,I would like to spend the next 12 months working out what the next chapter is,but I have said all along that chapter might be inside of footy,outside of footy,inside the AFL,outside the AFL,inside Australia,outside Australia.”