Nathan Buckley will depart the MCG in two Saturdays time not knowing whether he will ever return there as an AFL coach.
Buckley confirmed on Thursday that Collingwood has no plans to end or extend his tenure as Magpies coach until after round 23.
Collingwood guaranteed the out-of-contract coach's tenure until the end of the season back in July in a bid to ward off questions about his future and return the club's focus to on-field matters.
It worked, with the Magpies returning three wins and a draw in their best block of football this season.
That form hasn't convinced powerbrokers to break with their pledge and re-sign Buckley for a seventh season.
Asked whether he was 100 per cent committed to staying on in 2018 if offered the chance to do so, Buckley said "that'll all be part of the discussion that will take place at the end of the year".
"The club is gathering information for what its future is, I'm interested in seeing what that is also and I'll be a part of that discussion.
"It's not something I'm thinking about until the end of the year."
Collingwood has two MCG matches to round out its season, against Geelong and Melbourne on consecutive Saturday afternoons.
When the final siren on August 26 sounds, Buckley won't know if it is his last match as Magpies coach.
"We've said the end of the season would be when those discussions are going to take place so I wouldn't expect to hear anything before the Melbourne game," he said.
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