NORTH Melbourne legend Glenn Archer says his old side should snap up Nathan Buckley as its new coach.

Archer, who played 311 games for his beloved Kangaroos before retiring in 2007, said on Friday he thought Buckley could do the job without following the traditional path of being an AFL assistant coach or coaching his own side in a lower league.

Buckley played 280 games for Collingwood and the Brisbane Bears across his highly-decorated career, and the Shinboner of the Century said he was an obvious target for a team like the Kangaroos.

"Buckley's obviously number one in everyone's mind, but I'm sure they're not just going to look at Buckley, they'll look at a few guys and go through some sort of a process," Archer exclusively told afl.com.au.

"But why Nathan would probably be on top of their list would be the off-field stuff – he can bring so many supporters and sponsors, and just drag money in to the footy club.

"And unfortunately, for a team like North, you've got to look at both sides of the fence – on-field and off-field – when you're looking at a coach."

Archer said he believed, generally, that a coach was better off doing a proper apprenticeship, but that Buckley was a special case.

"It sort of flies in the face of what I believe – I think you should coach the team in your own right and actually work as an assistant, so you can learn all the aspects of coaching, from management of people to communications with players and staff and supporters, and it takes a while to get that,” he said.

'But there's some unique beasts, and I think Bucks is one of them – he's sort-of had the management experience a bit as captain when you're looking after your players.

"I've had a little bit to do with him, and he's the most organised bloke going around, and he's just got a freakish football mind, so I think it's a no-brainer that he's going to be pretty good on-field."

Archer was part of the panel put in place to review recently resigned North coach Dean Laidley’s position at the club, but said he would not be involved in the process of selecting his replacement.

He was full of praise for the way the Roos dealt with the surprise resignation of Laidley – given the review panel wasn’t due to decide on his future until round 16.

"I think it was absolutely first-class, the way Dean and the club handled it," Archer said.

"Dean made his decision, they got on the front foot straight away and held the media conference with no real leaks.

"I thought both James (Brayshaw, club chairman) and Dean, with what they said, made it one of the best exits I'd seen for a long time."

The Roos have appointed their senior assistant, Darren Crocker, to the role of caretaker, a decision Archer was also very happy with.

"Crock? I reckon he'll go really well – he ticks all the boxes with what I just spoke about, with coaching his own team down at Port Melbourne, then five years at Richmond as an assistant, then the same at North, so there's not much he doesn't know,” he said.

"The big test is once he gets in the hot seat, how he sets up the team, how he reacts to moves.

"I'm probably a bit biased, because he's one of my best friends, but I reckon he'll go really well.

"One of the arts of coaching is people management, and Crock's one of the best people managers I've seen.

"He's a quality person, and just one of those people you really want to play for."