West Coast chief executive Trevor Nisbett confirmed Michael Voss has been approached by the Brisbane Lions, adding that the Eagles would not stand in their assistant coach's way if he was offered a senior coaching role.
Nisbett said Voss, who signed a two-year contract to be an assistant at West Coast from next season onwards, had already contacted the club requesting permission to talk to the Lions following the shock resignation of coach Leigh Matthews on Monday.
Voss, the Lions' triple premiership-winning skipper, has often been considered a coach in waiting, despite not having worked as an actual assistant coach after finishing his playing career in 2006.
He was appointed by the Eagles as an assistant last July but it's believed Voss has a get-out clause in his contract that can be applied if the 1996 Brownlow medalist is offered a senior coaching position during the two-year period.
"This morning's situation is, Michael is committed to us and I would think that he's got a serious decision to make if Brisbane offer him the senior coaching job," Nisbett said.
"But ... our club certainly won't stand in the way of someone taking a senior job if it in fact (it) is going to be offered to him."
"From our point of view, we're hopeful that he'll still be with us but it's now just a hope rather than we know he's with us," Nisbett said.
The Eagles chief executive said Voss had called the club as soon as he was contacted by Brisbane on Monday morning.
"He (Voss) actually asked permission, which I think is a real testament to what Michael is like, and I gave him that permission because we are not going to stand in the way of somebody furthering their career if it's a senior position," said Nisbett.
"(But) If I had of said 'no, you can't speak to Brisbane', I'm sure he would have said 'OK, I'm out of the running'."
"What will happen in the next 48 hours we don't really know," Nisbett added. "I think it won't be a case of dragging it out for a long period of time."
Voss's signature had been a key element of a major re-structure of the Eagles' football department that saw assistants Darren Harris and Tony Micale released by the club, following a disastrous 2008 that saw the 2006 premiers jockeying with Melbourne for the wooden spoon.
West Coast, however, has signed Neale Daniher as a football operations manager and it is believed the former Melbourne coach is now actively looking for a replacement for Voss, who was earmarked to take over the club's midfield group as current midfield coach Peter Sumich moved into the role of senior assistant coach.
Nisbett said overall senior coach John Worsfold had been philosophical about the day's events.
"He's (Worsfold) a realist and sometimes these things happen," Nisbett said.