Kevin Sheedy made a rare concession about his AFL coaching future as Denis Pagan insisted he remains Carlton's best man for the job.

While Sheedy maintains all his usual humour and spirit, his comments on Wednesday gave him the air of a man lacking certainty about his future beyond this season.

Pagan was more defiant, saying he has never been better equipped to coach the Blues, but added he would not seek any assurances from them.

Less than an hour apart, the two 59-year-olds faced ongoing queries about their coaching futures at packed weekly media conferences.

The speculation will only increase over the coming weeks, especially given the coaching dominoes started falling late last month with Neale Daniher's departure from Melbourne.

The Bombers will not decide until the end of this season whether Sheedy goes beyond 27 seasons in charge at Windy Hill.

The pressure is also mounting on Pagan as Carlton wallow in third-bottom spot on the ladder.

"This club, they've got their reasons and their foresight, they want to think clearly through whether they should appoint maybe another younger coach - they've got to work all that stuff out," Sheedy said.

"They could - I don't know, I have no idea.

"You've got to take up all options on behalf of the club."

Sheedy insisted several times he was not worried about his future at Essendon and stressed he planned to keep coaching beyond this season, whether at Windy Hill or elsewhere.

When asked what the club might want to find out about him by the end of this season, he replied: "I don't know, it doesn't matter - just enjoy the eight weeks.

"It could be a situation, they might want to look at different things and different aspects of where footy is going.

"You've got to take that on board, I've been here for 27 years, it's a pretty good effort."

Likewise, Pagan said he wants to keep coaching the Blues next season and he believes his vast experience has him well-equipped for the job.

"I've had more experiences in good times and bad times than most, probably more than any. Who's better prepared to handle the situation we're in?" Pagan said.

He said his experience had made him both a better person and a better coach than when he began.

"I remember (former Hawthorn premiership coach) Allan Jeans saying you haven't coached until you've coached a side down the bottom," Pagan said.

"I think I'm better at what I do, contrary to some opinions of some people in the media.

"I'm more positive and I'm certainly more experienced, certainly a better people-manager.

"Probably at this stage of my life I'm better prepared to coach a football team than I've ever been."

But Pagan said he was "not here pleading for my job", had not sought any assurances about his future from the Blues hierarchy and had nothing left to prove to anyone.

"I do the very best I can, put one foot in front of the other, if you get a tap on the shoulder, you get a tap on the shoulder," he said.

Another coach under increasing pressure is Fremantle's Chris Connolly, who is unlikely to keep his job if the Dockers miss the top eight.

Connolly has admitted the pressure on him and his team is increasing as the side's finals chances continue to dwindle.

Since Sunday's loss in Sydney, which left Freo a massive task to make the eight, reports surfaced of a supposed rift between Connolly and skipper Matthew Pavlich, and of Daniher being favourite to take over should Connolly lose his job.

"We can't get caught up in what ifs, what happens if this happens, what happens if that happens. It is just a great distraction," Connolly said.

"But as you get closer to the end of the season the pressure goes up, because opportunities become less - that is just a mathematical formula."

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