Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson has refused to speculate about his AFL coaching future, amid reports he will be targeted for the vacant job with Adelaide.

Clarkson's contract finishes this year and he and Hawthorn have agreed to wait until the end of the season before deciding on a new deal.

Asked whether he was confident he would remain at Hawthorn beyond this season, Clarkson said his only focus was coaching out the current campaign.

"All the speculation about what (Carlton coach Brett Ratten) is going to do, what I'm going to do, what (Western Bulldogs coach) Rodney Eade is going to do, it's all speculation really," Clarkson said.

"We've got jobs to do, we're contracted to our footy clubs at the present time and that's really all we want to focus on.

"It's just a little bit of a media circus for everyone else out there."

But Clarkson said he was happy with the contract process that he and Hawthorn had decided on and with the way that the club was progressing.

"We've got a very exciting period ahead and we just want to make sure we keep all that in perspective and the coaching staff will work itself out in due course," Clarkson said.

He said Crows caretaker coach Mark Bickley was in the box seat to keep the job for next year as history had shown interim coaches often ended up filling the position fulltime.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP