Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson set for Tassie farewell tour

Already set to be succeeded by Sam Mitchell at the end of 2022, Clarkson saw his end date moved a year forward on Friday following a "messy" few weeks of speculation.

The 53-year-old will coach out the remaining four games of the season - including three straight games in Launceston - before having a year off in 2022.

He will finish up with 390 games as Hawks coach, four premierships and a winning record of nearly 60 per cent.

The announcement coincided with confirmation that Hawthorn will host Collingwood at UTAS Stadium on Sunday, August 8, marking the Magpies' first home and away game in Tasmania.

Fronting the media on Friday evening after news of the early handover forced his 10.30am press conference to be postponed, Clarkson said the decision had been a result of weeks of discussions.

"We all realised that the best thing was to get this bloke [Mitchell] into the chair and get going as soon as we possibly could," he said.

"We didn't want to be a footy club that was treading water for 12 months - we've got a lot of hard work to do as a club to get ourselves back in to a position where we can seriously challenge again and that hard work needs to be now steered by this guy.

"I'm enormously grateful to this footy club for the opportunity I've had to coach at this great club.

"I could never have imagined we were gong to be able to achieve the things that we have, and even more precious to Caryn and myself are the relationships we've been able to build with so many special people that have been connected to this club.

"More than anything else I want to retain those relationships in a really strong capacity over many years to come and I could only see that next year might have made that more difficult for Sam and I."

Mitchell said it had been a "strange day" and paid credit to the coach that led him to four premierships as a Hawks player.

"The direction my whole life has gone is through the passion that he's helped me grow, so I'm forever thankful for the position he's given me," he said.