Don Pyke during the round 17 clash between Western Bulldogs and Sydney at Marvel Stadium on July 11, 2021. Picture: Getty Images

FORMER Adelaide coach and current Sydney assistant Don Pyke will continue conversations with his wife before committing to pursuing the vacant Collingwood coaching role.

The race to replace Nathan Buckley was thrown wide open last week after key contender Sam Mitchell committed to a succession plan to replace Alastair Clarkson at Hawthorn in 2023.

Pyke has been a notable addition to the Swans' coaching panel this season and has had a large say in their rise from 16th to sixth.

Don Pyke with John Longmire during the round 17 clash between the Western Bulldogs and Sydney at Marvel Stadium on July 11, 2021. Picture: AFL Photos

The 52-year-old has been linked to the Pies' vacancy, however, the sub-committee is yet to officially meet with any candidates a month after Buckley's departure.

Pyke severed ties with the Crows after missing the finals in 2019 and cited the pressure on senior coaches as having a major impact on the enjoyment of the role, but he said he hadn't shut the door on becoming a senior coach.

"I didn't go back in with the view I'm desperate to go and become a senior coach again, I'm loving what I'm doing and really excited by this (Sydney) group," Pyke told ABC Sport on Sunday.

Stare Crow (L-R): Don Pyke and Taylor Walker ahead of the 2017 AFL Grand Final. Picture: AFL Photos

"It's something (Collingwood job) I'm thinking about at the moment, there's conversations I'm having with my wife and myself, to be honest. Is that the next step for me, is the timing right for me?

"It'll be an alignment of all those things, and I'll reach a decision on what it is and whether I throw my hat in the ring, time will tell."

The sub-committee, comprising of football director Paul Licuria, chief executive Mark Anderson, director Peter Murphy, football boss Graham Wright and ex-Pie Luke Ball met last week to thrash out early plans.

They've been pretty clear they won't be rushing the process. It's too big a job, too important a role and also out of respect to whoever will be involved, it's too big a role to provide weekly commentary on it

- Luke Ball

Ball, who won a flag with Collingwood in 2010, said the Pies would need to strike a balance between the best coaching option and the best person to take the club into their next frontier with finals off the radar in 2021.

"It's clearly an important juncture of the club with the president (Eddie McGuire) moving on and a favourite son (Buckley) moving on and with the position the list is in. It'll of course be about getting the best candidate, but also the best person that suits where the list is at over the next two, three, four, five years," Ball told ABC Sport.

"They've been pretty clear they won't be rushing the process. It's too big a job, too important a role and also out of respect to whoever will be involved, it's too big a role to provide weekly commentary on it."

Ball wasn't drawn on specific names in the race and said they hadn't set a specific timeline on the appointment as the only club currently in the coaching market.