Italy have been searching for a successor to Gennaro Gattuso since he departed the post following the country's failure to qualify for the World Cup. Roberto Mancini and Antonio Conte had been considered the frontrunners for much of the process, but Pirlo's close relationship with Maldini and Leonardo is understood to have moved him into serious contention, with a concrete proposal said to have been put to him, though the precise details of that meeting have not been made public.
Pep Guardiola, who left Manchester City at the end of last season after winning six league titles in ten years in England, has also been strongly linked with the vacancy. The 55-year-old has been without a job since his departure and has been reported to be weighing up taking a sabbatical year, but his name has persisted as a headline option for the Italian federation regardless.
Italy's federation president, Giovanni Malagò, recently suggested the list of candidates could yet widen further.
"Beyond Mancini and Pirlo there could be other names," Malagò told Sky Sports.
The federation is expected to move quickly to appoint Gattuso's successor as it looks to rebuild for future tournaments, with the composition of the shortlist likely to become clearer in the coming days.
Maldini's appointment as technical director marks a significant change in direction for Italian football's governing body, with the former AC Milan defender handed sweeping powers to overhaul the national team set-up alongside Leonardo, his former Milan teammate and one-time PSG sporting director.
Finding a head coach capable of restoring Italy's standing on the international stage after three consecutive missed World Cups is understood to be the pair's most pressing task, with the appointment expected to shape the direction of the national team well beyond the next major tournament.
Whoever takes the job will inherit a squad in need of rebuilding after a difficult qualifying campaign, with the federation keen to have a permanent successor in place well before Euro 2028 qualifying begins.