Former England coach Brian Ashton insists he could return to his former post in a caretaker role, but says he has not been approached.
The 65-year-old was Sir Clive Woodward's assistant from 1998 to 2002 and first took charge of the England side in late 2006. He guided them to the World Cup final the following year, with England going down 15-6 to South Africa in the showpiece event.
The Lancashire-born tactician coached the Red Rose in the 2008 6 Nations before losing his job as Martin Johnson swept into the set-up on a wave of optimism.
However, it proved to be a false dawn as, it could be argued, England have gone backwards during the World Cup winner's time in charge, culminating in the woeful effort in the recent World Cup.
Johnson's departure has opened the door for a new era of English rugby but it has been made clear that his permanent successor will not be appointed until after the 2012 6 Nations, with a temporary coach set to lead the side in the northern hemisphere competition.
A number of candidates to do the job on a short-term basis have been mentioned, with Ashton's name among them but while the veteran coach admits he is quite capable of fulfilling the role, he insists he has not been contacted by the powers that be.
"No one's approached me. I know I could do the job in a caretaker capacity," he said. "But whether I'd want to is a completely different matter."
Ashton is now technical director at National League One side Fylde and he questioned whether it would be a good move for him personally to go back into the pressurised atmosphere of a national set-up.
"I came up here to relax and enjoy myself and I don't know if you can associate those words with working for the RFU," he added to BBC Radio Lancashire.
"The same issues I think would arise in my mind that have probably arisen in some of the other guys who've been touted for the job.
"The problem is who do you report to? There's no chief executive so I've no idea who you'd report to."