Gary Stead, New Zealand's most successful cricket coach, is stepping down as the Black Caps' white-ball mentor, and could yet walk away from the Test side.
Stead has led the men's national sides since 2018, overseeing the groundbreaking 2021 Test Championship victory.
The 53-year-old has opted to shed the short formats and take some time to reconsider whether he wants to keep coaching the Kiwis at Test level.
"I'm looking forward to getting away from touring life for a while and having a think about my future," Stead said.
"The past six to seven months have been particularly busy with relatively non-stop cricket action since September.
"I now want to evaluate my options, but still feel I have coaching left in me, albeit not as head coach across all formats."
With Stead's contract running out in June, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) will open the coaching jobs to applicants, allowing the Cantabrian to decide whether he wants to be one.
NZC executive Bryan Stronach said they were open to all possibilities, suggesting if Stead wanted to continue as Test coach he would be preferred.
"At the moment we haven't any strong preference for either a split coaching role or a sole appointment who covers all three formats, and we're unlikely to be clearer on that until we see who's putting their name forward," he said.
Stead's record while leading the ICC's smallest Test nation is unparalleled.
As well as becoming the first world Test champions, New Zealand rose to No.1 in the Test rankings and nearly broke through for a first short-form success.
Stead was at the helm for the infamous 2019 World Cup final loss to England - on boundary countback - and the 2021 T20 World Cup final, lost to Australia.
Before taking over the men's side, he also coached the White Ferns to the 2009 ODI World Cup final, which they lost to England.
