FORMER Fremantle GM Peter Bell is being considered for the vacant head of football role at Collingwood after departing the Dockers at the start of the month.

Collingwood has been searching for a full-time replacement for Graham Wright in recent months and are understood to be in the closing stages of a thorough process.

Sydney executive Charlie Gardiner is considered the frontrunner for the position at the Pies, but Bell is also in the mix.

Bell, the North Melbourne and Fremantle great, joined the Dockers' football department at the end of 2018, stepping down from his role on the club's board and ending his prominent roles in the media.

Graham Wright speaks with media during the Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period on October 9, 2023. Picture: AFL Photos

After starting his playing career at Fremantle in 1995 and then returning in 2001 for eight seasons, where he won three Doig Medals after playing in two premierships with the Kangaroos, Bell spent five seasons as Fremantle's head of football.

The Dockers then made a change last off-season, promoting Joe Brierty from chief commercial officer to executive general manager of football, moving Bell to executive general manager of football talent, strategy and special projects.

Gardiner spent five years as the Swans' head of football, working under Tom Harley and John Longmire in New South Wales, before returning to Melbourne last year for family reasons.

The 41-year-old has worked out of Sydney's Melbourne office in Albert Park since then, focusing on legal compliance and commercial projects.

Charlie Gardiner speaks with media during the 2023 Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period. Picture: AFL Photos

Former Carlton coach Brendon Bolton was the Magpies' interim football boss in 2024 but has since moved to St Kilda to join Ross Lyon's coaching department as forwards coach.

After playing a significant role in Collingwood's 2023 premiership, Wright took a sabbatical this year before joining Carlton last month as deputy CEO in a leadership succession plan at Princes Park.

Collingwood targeted Brisbane GM Danny Daly and Port Adelaide football boss Chris Davies, but both opted to remain at their current clubs instead of relocating to Melbourne. Adelaide list manager Justin Reid was also considered for the position.

The Magpies will revert to a traditional football department structure after the departure of Wright, with Brisbane great Justin Leppitsch appointed list manager. Like Jason McCartney at Greater Western Sydney and Andrew Mackie at Geelong, Wright was list manager and GM.