Buckley to wait on deal
President says contract extension not on table
COLLINGWOOD president Eddie McGuire says it would be “madness” to extend Nathan Buckley’s coaching contract now and it is not a discussion that is “even on the table”.
Days after appointing a new head of football in Graham Wright, McGuire said the Magpies were not fazed by the prospect of Buckley entering this season without a contract for 2022.
This is the coach’s 10th season in charge. He has steered the Magpies to finals appearances in the past three years, including the 2018 grand final.
“He doesn’t worry about any of that stuff,” McGuire said of Buckley’s contract situation.
“That’s the least of his worries. He knows our situation at Collingwood. We love Nathan Buckley. The one thing we don’t have to worry about is him putting in and trying and doing everything that he possibly can.
“We’ve just made some appointments so it would be madness for me to sign him up as I’m leaving, with one year to go [as president] and just hire Graham Wright two days ago. We’ve got plenty of time on things. There’s no rush. The COVID gives it another layer of intrigue as we go. Also, you have to be a little bit smarter in how you analyse how teams have gone.”
Collingwood bombed out of the finals with a 68-point semifinal loss to Geelong last year, but McGuire said he believed the side “did pretty well last year” under the circumstances.
“At the start of the year I thought we were just about primed to win it and then we had a few injuries,” he said on SEN radio in South Australia.
Buckley as one of only three out-of-contact coaches after this year. The other two are Brisbane Lions mentor Chris Fagan and Richmond’s Damien Hardwick.
New North Melbourne coach David Noble is on a “rolling” contact, but will be given time to turn around the Kangaroos.
“There will be a time when it’s appropriate [to discuss] but it’s just not an issue and we’re not going to let it become an issue,” McGuire said.
“If there’s an announcement to be made it will be made in due course.”
He will step down as Collingwood president at season’s end after 23 years in the role.