Four-time premiership coach Alastair Clarkson is adamant he will honour his current AFL contract at Hawthorn.
Carlton and North Melbourne are in the market for a new senior coach beyond this season and Clarkson would be their dream choice.
But Clarkson said on Monday night that there is no way he will break the deal he signed last October, which runs until the end of the 2022 season.
"I sat down with the club and made a commitment," Clarkson told AFL360.
"It's not just a commitment to the club, it's a commitment to players that you recruit, staff that you recruit and coaches (who) you're trying to help out on their journey.
"It's much, much bigger than just the individual coach and him making a decision on what he wants to do the following year or the years after that.
"For me, it's a commitment that was made to the club and a whole bunch of people and I just can't walk - not until the contract ends."
Clarkson said once he comes to the end of his current deal, it will be a case of himself and the club deciding whether they should keep going together.
"Then we'll sit down and work out what's the next year or two years or three years look like," he said
"But I will never walk away from it."
Along with the four Hawks flags, Clarkson is one of the AFL's most respected figures.
Including newly-departed Blues coach Brendon Bolton, a whopping seven senior AFL coaches this season have worked with Clarkson at Hawthorn.
The last three AFL premiership coaches - West Coast's Adam Simpson, Richmond's Damien Hardwick and Brendon Bolton of the Western Bulldogs - cut their teeth as assistants in the Clarkson regime.
Before that, Clarkson guided the Hawks to three-straight flags.
Australian Associated Press
