Win or lose against Wales, Jason Ryles will leave the Wallabies once the World Cup is over - but the assistant coach says he'd be surprised if Eddie Jones followed him out the door by choice.
Ryles is committed to his coaching role with NRL club Melbourne, starting immediately after the final in France, but Jones said his own job may be on the line should the Wallabies fail against Wales and bomb out in the pool stage for the first time.
A historic loss to Fiji last round - the Wallabies' sixth in seven Tests under Jones - has put the former England head in the firing line with a review to be conducted by Rugby Australia after the tournament.
There has also been speculation linking him to the Japan post, which Jones has denied.
Ryles said the rebuild of the Wallabies leading into the next World Cup in Australia in 2027 was a "big job" but he felt Jones had laid the foundations for success.
"It's one of those things where he hasn't said anything to us," said Ryles when asked if he thought Jones would stay on.
"Just basically, 'watch this space' because there is a big job ahead for the next four years with the Wallabies, which he has started already and got some pretty good foundations down.
"To walk away from that would be a bit of a surprise because there are a lot of green shoots there for the future.
"I'm not too sure what he'll do, to be honest with you, but it's good to have options by the sound of it."
Ryles, who works under super coach Craig Bellamy at the Storm, said he was excited to have the opportunity to work alongside Jones, who he described as "one of the leading coaches in the world".
He said Jones had left no stone unturned to help the Wallabies prepare for do-or-die battle with Wales in Lyon on Sunday (Monday AEST).
"Eddie has been great and this week he has stepped up even more, in regards to being really clear on what he wants and what he expects from Wales and how we can negate that and possibly attack their strengths," Ryles said.
Jones has accepted blame for the Wallabies' shortcomings this year but said it was necessary to overhaul the team, moving past the likes of former skipper Michael Hooper and Quade Cooper.
James Slipper survived that cull and said all of the players bought into Jones's vision for the future.
"There's always space for experience but this is the way Eddie wanted to go and as players we jumped on board, we made that clear very early on in the piece," said the 34-year-old, at his fourth World Cup.
"For us as a Wallaby group and team, the results haven't been there and with that in mind, big decisions had to be made and this was one of them."
