Interim Melbourne coach Neil Craig says there would have to be rigid conditions in place for him to take on the role permanently.
Early in the season Craig was adamant he wasn't interested in a return to a head coaching position, but he appears to be warming to the idea since last month's axing of Mark Neeld.
The Demons' players are helping the cause by delivering a stirring three-point win over the Western Bulldogs last round, only their second victory of the year.
Craig boasts a 1-1 record with the 17th-placed Demons, who are 2-11 in 2013.
"I was pretty clear in my mind when I left Adelaide that was it for me as a senior coach," Craig said on Thursday.
"There would have to be some fairly rigid conditions for me to be a senior coach again.
"I'm not saying that's impossible. I'm just saying that's the way I operate."
Craig didn't want to publicly divulge what such conditions were.
He said the ball was in Melbourne's court and the Demons need to first form a coaching selection panel and decide what kind of coach they actually wanted.
"It's absolutely important, first and foremost, that the Melbourne football club have got to decide what their next coach needs to look like and the skill set that he needs," Craig said.
"Because that might be poles apart from what I've got, the skills I've got or how I see the game."
Demons co-captain Jack Trengove spoke after their win over the Bulldogs about a new sense of freedom at the club.
Craig said he hadn't given the players any special instructions and believed the freedom came from playing without pressure.
He said the same thing happened in 2011 when he resigned from Adelaide after a heavy loss.
"When the senior coach is continually criticised and is in the press and is under some pressure, everyone in that football club experiences that and it can weigh people down," Craig said.
"What happens is when the senior coach goes ... it's not so much that the problem is gone, it's the fact that sort of attention leaves the football club.
"That itself is a relief for people."
He felt the players were reaping the rewards of Neeld's coaching.
The Demons face a huge task to go back-to-back, facing fourth-placed Sydney at the MCG on Sunday.
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