Collingwood president Eddie McGuire was the architect behind the revolutionary deal signed in 2009 that meant that the club would secure Buckley's future rather than risk losing him to a rival club, and also keep hold of Malthouse.
Regardless of the outcome of the 2011 season, Malthouse will vacate his position as senior coach, with Buckley his immediate successor.
The future of Malthouse has been an issue almost since the deal was signed and with the 2011 deadline looming ominously on the horizon, speculation has continued with nauseating regularity.
Malthouse and Collingwood have repeatedly stated that the deal will be honoured - the legendary coach will not be leaving the club at the end of 2011, with Malthouse's manager reaffirming this position is a statement last week.
Yet that hasn't stopped the Magpies' coach being linked with seemingly any club in Melbourne in the last few months. He is in the box seat, supposedly, to take over at Melbourne, Hawthorn, Richmond, Carlton, Western Bulldogs or St Kilda, depending on which day of the week it is.
As recently as last week, Melbourne great Garry Lyon suggested the Demons should definitely make a play for Malthouse should they decide that the services of current coach Dean Bailey are no longer required.
The events of the last week have only added further fuel to the fire.
The three-time premiership coach met club McGuire in an effort to define his position. Just what will his duties be from next year? Although Malthouse's job description is not set in stone, McGuire categorically stated that Buckley would be at the helm in 2012.
"Nathan Buckley is running the show next year," proclaimed McGuire on Triple M radio.
But the question remains, what exactly will Malthouse be employed to do beyond this season?
Looking at the NFL and European soccer experience, his new role should be fairly easy to define.
The director of football position might be an unknown commodity in the AFL landscape, but it is commonplace in major sporting codes across the world.
European soccer clubs have a swarm of coaches who work under the direction of a manager and in most cases a football director.
The NFL doesn't only feature a similar make-up of a team of coaches working under one or two senior figures, but also offers a precedent for the Malthouse/Buckley situation.
Bill Parcells is an NFL icon. He has served some of the leagues biggest franchises - New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots - as head coach over his illustrious career.
Parcells twice reached the top of the NFL mountain, steering the Giants to two Super Bowl championships. However, it is Parcells most recent career move that is particularly relevant.
In 2008, he became the director of football for the Miami Dolphins. 'The Big Tuna' still had a burning desire to operate, and contribute to an NFL team, but his advancing years - he is 69 -meant he was arguably past the head coach expiry date.
Here was a beloved, championship-winning coach making the transition from head coach to a front office role, charged with helping groom the next level of personnel within the club.
Sound familiar?
Parcells did not have any game-day coaching duties in his position, which aligns with reports that Malthouse will not have a match-day role in the coach's box.
It's reported that Malthouse will take charge of the development of assistant coaches and the overall coaching structure at the club.
Undoubtedly the rumours will continue to swirl around Malthouse, such is the nature of the agreement in place with the Collingwood Magpies. But ultimately, the hype doesn't seem to be having much effect on the 58-year old. If it is, he is doing a great job of hiding it.
Malthouse seems relaxed this year. He is speaking freely and openly in the media, where in the past he has sometimes been cagey. And on the field, his all-conquering Collingwood side is dominating the competition, and is almost unbackable favourite to claim consecutive premierships.
When asked earlier in the year about his role in helping Buckley's transition into life as a senior coach, Malthouse was concise in his response.
"The brief I had was to give Nathan every opportunity to be a senior coach and be a successful senior coach," he said.
Regardless of what happens at the end of the 2011 season, Malthouse has undoubtedly succeeded in that aspect.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
