NATHAN Buckley might have inherited one of the most coveted coaching jobs in the AFL, but he has decided not to inherit the old office of his predecessor Mick Malthouse.

For seven years from the time Collingwood relocated its headquarters from Victoria Park to the Melbourne Park precinct, Malthouse called the shots from an office boasting a picturesque view of the Yarra River.

But Buckley hasn't commandeered his long-time mentor's 'war room' at the Westpac Centre, instead setting up his base of operations in a space formerly occupied by the club's communications department.

A more centrally located space that looks on to a boxing ring.

Conspiracy theorists would interpret this move as a clear example of the new coach deliberately distancing himself from the old mentor.

Indeed, some would deem it as further evidence of a supposed acrimonious split between these two powerful personalities, whose version of a Bob Hawke-Paul Keating 'Kirribilli agreement' was perceived by many as problematic from the moment the deal was sealed in July, 2009.

However, the reality has no sinister undertone.

"We're in the process of renovating and we've moved a few things around the football department," Buckley tells the AFL Record.

"There were a few extra development coaches who needed a bit more room so we put them in Mick's old office, and I found the next available space."

Buckley believes Malthouse will have an ongoing influence at the Westpac Centre.

"Mick's left a fantastic legacy at Collingwood," he says. "He's had a big influence on a lot of people at the club, including me, and that's in all areas: as a footballer, a person and now a coach.

"I certainly hope his influence looms large for years to come.

"He added immeasurably to the club's culture and became part of the place. He dedicated a decade of blood, sweat and tears to Collingwood, and he returned a premiership to the club after 20 years in the wilderness.

"He's always going to be seen fondly by Collingwood people."

All pre-season Buckley has been respectfully paying tribute to the successful system established by Malthouse, insisting his aim was to instigate evolution rather than revolution. Subtle adjustments rather than sweeping changes. It's a commonsense assessment - after all, how much change is required for a team that has tasted defeat just 10 times in its past 68 matches?

Anyway, Buckley has long believed game-plans aren't as important as basics like teamwork, competitiveness and maximising talent; and following the model of all successful teams: apply enormous pressure, develop great skills and be hard at the ball.

Buckley's seeming fortuitousness in taking over a League heavyweight reminds us of a quote from the late coaching great Allan Jeans, who said: "I didn't want to be the best coach; I wanted to coach the best team."

A team can only truly be regarded as 'the best' if it wins the premiership. And most footy followers seem united in one belief:
if the Pies don't win the flag this season they will have failed.

Those who believe this places undue pressure on Buckley probably don't understand his intense and driven nature. Indeed, the new Magpies coach has always placed more pressure on himself to succeed than anyone else.

It's this quality - allied with an unquenchable hunger for hard work, a constant quest for knowledge and perfection, and a willingness to continually refine his approach - that made him one of the game's great midfielders. And many experts believe these winning traits will also make him a formidable coach.

So Buckley isn't feeling any added weight of expectation to achieve immediate success this season.

"I can't really influence anything that's going to happen in six weeks or six months until we get there," he says.

"All you can do is concentrate on what's right in front of you."

Buckley also finds little point in looking too far into the past.

He is the seventh Collingwood captain to later coach the club. Only one - Jock McHale's successor Phonse Kyne - took the Pies to a flag; two, in fact. (In the history of the competition, almost 50 men have tried, but just nine have succeeded.)

"So it has been done before? That's good to know," is all Buckley offers, leaving the distinct impression he doesn't actually care to know at all.
 
When Buckley retired at the end of 2007 (after 280 games and a long list of gongs, including a Brownlow Medal and a club-record six best and fairest awards, but, famously, no premierships), contrary to popular belief, he didn't have his heart set on entering AFL coaching ranks.

In fact, it wasn't until late  2008/early 2009 that the idea crystallised in his mind.

In his autobiography All I Can Be, published in September, 2008, Buckley revealed: "People assume I'm an AFL coach in waiting, and that it's inevitable I'll one day take over from Mick Malthouse as part of a predetermined succession plan … Firstly, there's no certainty I'll even throw my hat into the ring; secondly, there is no such plan."

In the meantime, he embarked on an extensive fact-finding mission to ensure he would be perfectly prepared (a Buckley trademark), and that there would be no shocks if and when he finally found himself in the coaching hot seat.

Buckley spent 2008 and 2009 in the media and established himself as a reasoned, insightful voice in the style of Leigh Matthews, his first coach at Collingwood.

Buckley also took on the role of high performance coach with the AIS-AFL Academy team, and guided Vic Country to victory in the 2009 NAB AFL Under-16 Championships.

In June that year, Buckley took his quest abroad on an AFL-funded study tour of American college football team Notre Dame.

Buckley had always felt the ideal coaching pathway was to play for one club, become an assistant at a second club and coach a third.

For a time, he considered not undertaking such an apprenticeship. The North Melbourne job (which ultimately went to Brad Scott) was his for the taking. But Buckley's heart was with Collingwood, and president Eddie McGuire brokered a five-year contract: two as an assistant coach, followed by three as senior coach.

Many were convinced the Malthouse-Buckley alliance couldn't work, that they would butt heads and destabilise the Pies. However, in the two years with Buckley as understudy (the first as forward coach, the second as opposition analyst), the club won a premiership and finished runner-up.

Even then, many suggested Buckley should 'do the right thing' and back out of the succession plan to allow Malthouse, the AFL's oldest coach, to keep coaching while he was still at the top of his game. Such calls were unfair on Buckley, who could already have been entrenched as a senior coach elsewhere. Besides, both parties had signed the deal in good faith. Nothing could deny Buckley his destiny.

The 39-year-old (he'll be 40 in July) feels the transition couldn't have been smoother. There have been many changes in the Pies' coaching panel but Buckley points out the continued stability provided by other key figures within the football department.

He also regards the addition of former Sydney and Western Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade as football and coaching strategist as a coup.

"'Rocket's' role - to coach the coaches and to strategise - is perfect for him, and I think he'll only become more important to us in coming years," he says.

Buckley captained 14 players on the Pies' list, and is mates with many of them, but doesn't anticipate any difficulty in separating friendship from business when tough decisions need to be made.

"It's interesting people think that might be a problem when I was criticised for being too hard on my teammates for periods as a captain," he says. "You can't have it both ways.

"The fact I played with a few of them is potentially a position of strength because I've got strong relationships with them already. And I've worked with the other guys for the past couple of years, which also holds me in good stead."

Another criticism of Buckley the captain was that he instigated too many meetings that ran for too long. Has he heeded this feedback in his new life as a coach?

"Meetings go exactly how long they need to for us to get across all the relevant information," he says.

"I reckon the players would say there's been fewer meetings than they might have imagined, and they're shorter."

Despite copping a series of injuries - and a recent two-game club ban imposed on premiership midfielder Sharrod Wellingham - that will no doubt test the Pies' questionable depth, Buckley rates the pre-season "a seven or eight out of 10".

But how does the new coach rate his own performance so far?

"I know that over time you get better at it, you become more efficient, you understand it better," he says. "I'm always learning, growing and evolving."

Just as he has always done, in all areas of his life, and presumably always will.

This story first appeared in the AFL Record