CARLTON caretaker coach Josh Fraser is eligible to win the Allan Jeans Award as senior coach of the year when all 18 coaches vote next month.

The AFL Coaches' Association has confirmed that caretaker coaches are eligible for the peer-voted prize if they coach at least a third of the season.

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Every senior coach votes 3-2-1 after preliminary final weekend, with a shortlist of candidates presented to the coaches.

Essendon interim coach Dean Solomon is also eligible, with the AFL Coaches Association setting a threshold at 7-8 games.

The award focuses on exceeding expectations based on available resources, which is why Fraser could poll plenty of votes after the best caretaker coaching performance in AFL history.

Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir will take some beating for coach of the year after leading the Dockers towards the minor premiership on the back of 14 consecutive wins, responding after a disappointing finals exit last September.

Steven King should also poll well after inheriting a Melbourne side that won only seven games last year to have already doubled that figure and be firmly in top-four contention late in his first season as a senior coach.

Chris Fagan has won the past two Allan Jeans Awards - and is the only three-time winner since the award was created in 2003 - and is also one of the leading contenders with Brisbane in the hunt to three-peat.

Before the veteran Lions coach went back-to-back, five of the previous six winners weren't the premiership coach, who collects the Jock McHale Medal on Grand Final day. Only 10 of the 23 winners of the Allan Jeans Award were the premiership coach that year.

Fraser took over from Michael Voss at round 10 after Carlton made a coaching change following a 1-8 start to the season.

Since then, the former Collingwood and Gold Coast ruckman has led the Blues to the second-most wins across the past three months to be 10-2 ahead of the final fortnight of the home and away season.

Fraser put his hand up for the job full-time on Tuesday afternoon and has now officially entered the process after a flawless audition to date.

No caretaker coach had won more than seven games this century until Fraser, who is guaranteed to coach 14 home and away games and can book a wildcard spot with a win over the Western Bulldogs on Sunday.

Fraser has a winning percentage of 83 per cent, which puts him well clear of previous caretaker coaches who landed the job full-time: Matt Primus (71 per cent from seven games), Paul Roos (60 per cent from 10), Rhyce Shaw (58 per cent from 12), Mark Harvey (57 per cent from seven) and David Teague (55 per cent from 11).

Luke Beveridge won the first of two consecutive Allan Jeans Awards in his first season in 2015 when he led the Western Bulldogs to an elimination final appearance, two years after Ken Hinkley was named coach of the year after guiding Port Adelaide to a semi-final in his first season in charge.

The Allan Jeans Award has been presented since 2003 and is yet to recognise a caretaker coach.

But by the time it is awarded this year, Fraser could be a full-time senior coach, regardless of whether he is named the coach of the year or not.