Jim Mallinder, the Northampton director of rugby, has emerged as the favourite to succeed Martin Johnson in charge of England but Saints will take some persuading to release the 45-year-old from his contract.

The Professional Game Board met on Thursday to discuss the England position, weighing up both the potential candidates and whether Johnson's successor will be a team manager or head coach. It intends to make a recommendation to the Rugby Football Union's directors at the end of the month but time is short with the England elite squad having to be named by the beginning of January.

A number of overseas coaches have been linked with the position. Eddie Jones, who was in charge of Australia in the 2003 World Cup when they lost the final to England, has expressed his interest and said he would not be put off by the political upheaval at Twickenham. Eddie O'Sullivan, the former Ireland coach who this week stood down from being in charge of the United States, has declared his availability while there is a lobby urging the RFU to approach Graham Henry, who last month led New Zealand to World Cup success having coached Wales between 1998 and 2002.

Henry, who will be in Britain next week preparing the Barbarians for their match against Australia at Twickenham, is under contract to the New Zealand Rugby Union until 31 March and it is in talks with him about a mentoring role for its Super 15 and provincial coaches. Henry has said he would be interested in playing an advisory role with a club or a union in Europe but it would be only part-time.

There has long been a preference in the RFU for England to be led by an Englishman and Mallinder has come through the system. He joined Northampton from the union in 2007, having coached England Saxons to 15 victories in 16 matches and leading the England Under-21s to the Six Nations title in 2006. "I would not look too far past Jim Mallinder," said the Saracens director of rugby, Mark McCall. "He has done a brilliant job for Northampton and, while there will always be a call for a big name and someone with international experience to take a job like England, I do not think that is necessary when someone like Jim is available."

Mallinder, who has turned Northampton from a Championship club to Premiership and Heineken Cup contenders, is under contract to his club for another 18 months. He said last month it was an ambition of his to coach England and Saints are bracing themselves for an official approach from the RFU.

"We can only speculate about who they are looking at but we have heard nothing officially," said the Northampton chairman, Leon Barwell. "Jim is a first-class coach and he is bound to be in the running for the England job. We will have to deal with it if and when it materialises but I would try to persuade him to stay and continue the excellent work he has done here. I do not want him to leave."

The PGB met all day at Twickenham and invited Johnson to give a presentation. The board's chairman, Ian Metcalfe, said: "We were very grateful for Martin Johnson's contribution." With time so pressing, the board has to consider a contingency plan of a caretaker administration. While Johnson resigned this week, his management team are in limbo, waiting to be told whether they will be kept on by England, offered a job by the RFU or released. Even if the RFU finds a coach who is able to start work next month – and the union has a contractual obligation under its agreement with Premiership Rugby to name the elite squad at the beginning of January – he would struggle to appoint his own coaching team in time for England's pre-Six Nations warm-weather training camp in Portugal in January.

Mallinder would not be able to take the job in a part-time capacity for the rest of the season before taking up the role full-time because of a Premiership Rugby rule which prevents club coaches from having an involvement with any England team.

Then there is the vexed issue of who the team manager/head coach would report to. Leading overseas candidates, such as Jones and Henry, would not be willing to answer to a performance director, only the RFU's chief executive, who is expected to be appointed next month, but it is a question that the PGB cannot give an answer to because the rugby operation at Twickenham is due to be reviewed in the new year. It would not be something likely to concern Mallinder.