Far from having a problem with North Melbourne's pursuit of John Longmire, Kangaroos caretaker coach Rhyce Shaw says the AFL club would be silly not to chase his Sydney mentor.
North's bid to lure 2012 premiership coach Longmire to Arden Street emerged this week when his manager Liam Pickering confirmed an approach had been made by chairman Ben Buckley.
Shaw still has every intention of making the top job his own on a permanent basis but understands there will be stiff competition for the role.
"It's well within the club's rights to look elsewhere to try and find the best coach for the footy club ... they'd be silly not to," Shaw told reporters on Wednesday.
"I think John's a fantastic coach. He coached me for seven years (as a player) and I coached under him for three years ... he's one of the greats.
"I've been lucky enough to see that first-hand.
"Whatever the club thinks they need to do and go about that (search), I fully support."
Shaw was named AFL Coaches Association assistant coach of the year in 2017 while working under Longmire, who is under contract next season at the Swans.
Sydney are intent on extending Longmire's nine-year tenure but it is understood the 48-year-old could potentially opt out of the final season of his current deal if he chooses to return to the club he played 200 games for.
Rumours are rife that North Melbourne are close to securing the services of West Coast list manager Brady Rawlings.
Rawlings notched 245 games for the Kangaroos, and North Melbourne are keen to sign him as their new football manager.
"I'm not sure what the current status is but I know that he's been approached by North and they're working through that at the moment," Eagles coach Adam Simpson said.
"It would be really disappointing to see him go. He's one of my best friends and has done a great job for our club."
Simpson also confirmed he had been approached by North several weeks ago about the head coaching role, but he quickly told them he wasn't interested.
Shaw will guide the Roos for the fourth time since Brad Scott's departure when they take on Collingwood at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night.
Taylor Garner will be unavailable for selection for that match, with the 25-year-old banished to the VFL while the club continues to investigate his involvement in a bar fight in Sydney during the club's bye weekend.
"We're really disappointed with the position that Taylor put himself in," Shaw said.
"I'm really disappointed, it's not where we want to be.
"We've spoken about our standards and obviously he's put himself in a position where he hasn't upheld those standards."
