Hawthorn great Shane Crawford says Collingwood would be “crazy” if they don’t look to interview current Box Hill coach Sam Mitchell to fill the vacant senior coach role at the club.
The Pies and Nathan Buckley announced on Wednesday morning that they would part ways after the upcoming Queen's Birthday match against Melbourne, ending a coaching tenure that began at the start of the 2012 season.
Crawford, who played with Mitchell at the Hawks, said his former teammate would be the perfect candidate for the Collingwood job after impressing as an assistant coach at West Coast and Head of Development at Hawthorn.
“A left-field suggestion from me and someone who I know really well and know what they’re capable of is Sam Mitchell,” he said on the TAB Inside 50 Podcast.
“He’s set himself up really well at Box Hill even though they haven’t played many games, he went over to coach at West Coast and now come back to Hawthorn and now taken on Box Hill.
“He has Andy Collins (as an assistant), I think they’d be crazy not sitting down and interviewing someone like Sam Mitchell.
“I know I push him a lot but I push him for a reason, because he’s bloody good and I think he’s going to be a career coach.
“It’s a great opportunity for Collingwood right now to go and interview everyone under the sun, they should be interviewing 500 people for this job, narrow it down to 10 and then work out who’s the best fit for the club.
“Not just the best fit as a person, but the best fit with a game style and someone who’s prepared to think and play a bit differently.”
Mitchell is widely tipped to be Alastair Clarkson’s successor at Hawthorn, with the Hawks installing him as Box Hill’s head coach at the start of this season.