The coaching succession plan implemented by Collingwood looks set to prompt similar thinking among rival AFL clubs.

Port Adelaide are reportedly considering grooming Mark Williams' successor similar to the way the Magpies will have Nathan Buckley take the coaching reins from Mick Malthouse in 2012 after two seasons as an assistant coach.

The Power have confirmed they are on the look-out for a new assistant coach following the decision of part-time assistant Tony McGuinness to quit because of business commitments.

Former Port assistant Damien Hardwick is one assistant (currently at Hawthorn) linked with working at the Power with a possible view to succeeding Williams, who recently re-signed for another two seasons.

Collingwood players say they are thrilled with the Malthouse-Buckley handover, while Brisbane Lions coach Michael Voss also endorsed the move.

Voss, who missed the chance to work under his predecessor Leigh Matthews as an assistant but took the Brisbane job in his own right, said a succession plan was a good way to safeguard a club's leadership hierarchy.

"There seems to be a lot more focus on succession plans and they're all starting to pop out, but I think in an ideal situation most clubs would like to see a succession in place as opposed to waiting for the diabolical stage where you have to fall apart before you can build again," Voss said on Friday.

"If you talk about success and making it sustainable ... you've got to have succession plans in place."

Voss, whose plans to work under Matthews were scuttled because the then-coach could not come up with a handover date, said Buckley would be aided under Collingwood's plan by establishing himself as an assistant coach before he took the senior job.

Voss took on the job in his own right when Matthews surprisingly announced he was quitting last year.

Collingwood captain Nick Maxwell said he and his teammates were pleased the club's coaching future had been resolved, and that they could continue their improvement under Malthouse.

"We're thrilled with the decision and the process the club went through," he said.

"We're very happy - you see the way we're playing for Mick - we're happy that he's going to stay on for a few more years."

Maxwell said the Pies were also thrilled to get the chance to learn from Buckley, although he expected his former skipper to alter his relationships with players over the next two years.

"He's got a couple of weeks now he's got the challenge of changing his relationships a little bit," he said.

"He's a mate and a teammate to a lot of players now, and he's got to look into being a coach so he's got a couple of years to develop those relationships and change them a bit."

When he leaves the hot seat, after the 2011 season, Malthouse will become Collingwood's director of coaching.

Sydney coach Paul Roos is another leading AFL figure who believes Collingwood's plan is the way of the future.

Hardwick is one of a handful of highly-rated assistants likely to come under consideration for the vacant full-time coaching jobs at North Melbourne and Richmond.

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