Roos confirmed Essendon coach Mark Thompson, whose top role is due to finish at the end of the season after James Hird's suspension ends, would be considered to succeed him in either 2016 or 2017. But the Demons coach also said he was largely ambivalent about whether candidates had senior coaching experience.

''What they have to do is understand the direction of the footy club. We're not going to appoint anyone that has a different direction to me,'' Roos said on Tuesday morning.

While Roos will not solely make the decision on the Demons' next coach – he will be part of a sub-committee that will make a recommendation to their directors – he stressed the importance of continuity once the handover occurs.

''They'll have to be someone the club trusts will continue that direction, that the players trust will continue that direction,'' he said. ''You wouldn't want me to do what I'm doing for two or three years and then someone to come in and completely change the game plan.''

Roos said the club had begun to compile a long list of candidates but insisted the process was in its infancy, partly because it was unable to speak to prospective candidates currently employed at rivals clubs. He said the search would not be a distraction for him, and was confident his players would be similarly unaffected.

''Internally, it's not an issue for us at all,'' he said. ''It's interesting the [media] discussion about myself because most only have two-[year] or three-year contracts, so no one knows who's going to coach a footy club post [that]. What we're trying to do is give some certainty ... put in place a structure that's an eight-year structure, which is so much more stability than any club really has.''

Roos also said his decision whether to coach for a third season, in 2016, would not be influenced by who was chosen as his successor, be it a novice or an experienced senior coach.