Bolton finished celebrating with the Hawks on Sunday night and was given the blessing of football boss Chris Fagan and premiership coach Alastair Clarkson to start preparing for his first interview in Adelaide.

The Crows waited until Hawthorn's 2014 campaign was completed before football operations boss David Noble contacted the club on Sunday seeking permission to approach Bolton, who was publicly acknowledged by Clarkson on the premiership dais shortly after the final siren.

While Clarkson, Fagan, Luke Hodge and the majority of the Hawks' coaching team and players travelled to Tasmania with the Premiership Cup on Wednesday, the club's 2014 forwards coach who also oversees the training procedures was excused.

Clarkson is believed to have encouraged and advised Bolton in the days leading up to his presentation to Adelaide.

Little known in the context of senior coaching prospects before Clarkson became seriously ill in late May, Bolton is a former North Hobart captain-coach who came to the Box Hill Hawks six years ago and join Hawthorn's assistant coaching panel at the start of the 2011 season.

He was chosen to fill in for Clarkson following a unanimous recommendation from the senior Hawks' players and coached the club to five successive victories.

Adelaide has also targeted it's former 210-game defender Nathan Bassett who has worked as Mark Thompson's senior assistant this season.