NZ rugby icon Wayne Smith must be involved in the selection process to find the next All Blacks coach, insist former All Blacks Jeff Wilson and Sir John Kirwan.
After NZ Rugby confirmed the selection timeline and incumbent Ian Foster announced he would not re-apply, speculation over who'll take the reins has been narrowed to what seems a final two.
After a run of six Super Rugby titles in six years, Crusaders coach Scott Robertson is the only standout from within New Zealand.
Japan boss Jamie Joseph boasts experience both in Super Rugby with the Highlanders, before moving overseas to take up an international job.
Current All Blacks assistant and former Ireland coach Joe Schmidt loomed as a third contender, but has ruled himself out of the running, refusing to consider coaching roles beyond this year's World Cup.
NZ Rugby is understood to be assembling the panel to select the next coach, but NZ Herald reports Smith has declined an invitation. Ex-All Blacks Sir John Kirwan and Jeff Wilson claim Smith - or someone with the equivalent level of knowledge of the New Zealand game - must have input into the process.
Smith boasts a wealth of experience and expertise, with involvement as both All Blacks head coach and assistant, helping them to Rugby World Cup victories in 2011 and 2015.
Last year, Smith took the reins of a Black Ferns side in crisis, after the sudden resignation of coach Glenn Moore, and turned the team around in less than nine months to win the women's Rugby World Cup.
Both former players pinpoint the need for a figure in line with the late Sir Brian Lochore, who returned to the All Blacks in a managerial role to help Laurie Mains, after he stood down as coach in 1987.
"It's a position that, if you remember back… BJ Lochore got put into this situation, because Laurie's [Mains] team was a bit shaky," Kirwan told Sky Sport's Breakdown.
"He came in as a coach adviser, but also had that mana. Then he stayed.
"He actually created this role and he was amazing. They haven't recreated it.
"Maybe there should be someone that we're going 'that person has the mana, done the coaching and is going to be that person'.
"Right now, who would that coach be? It is Wayne Smith, every day of the week."
While Smith appears to have ruled himself out, due to his connection to the current side, Wilson puts forward Schmidt as another potential contender to fill that role. He also points out the lack of senior figures within the NZ game, potentially undermining any decision-making process.
"You know who the other guy is? It's actually Joe Schmidt, if you talk about a guy who understands the landscape of New Zealand rugby.
"I know it's impossible, but what I'm saying is the fact that NZ Rugby has never had that person.
"Steve Hansen left. After he left, he was probably the guy that had the level of experience you're talking about.
"When you start asking the right questions to prepare these people, but they don't work for NZ Rugby, I don't think there's enough rugby expertise from the last 25 years that have been right in there, in the middle of it."
Mid-April looms as a potential timeline for an All Blacks coaching announcement.
