It's not only players whose futures are being decided in the final stages of the national rugby championship.
This is the money end of the season when players either clinch Super 14 berths, take up contracts overseas, re-sign with their provincial unions or transfer to another province.
The latest to go overseas is Scott Hamilton, the Canterbury utility stalwart and former All Black.
He's just the sort of solid, no-nonsense player on which New Zealand's rugby foundation has been built.
But it's not just the players. Coaches are making their moves, too. The Super 14 coaches have already been confirmed.
Todd Blackadder, Mark Hammett and Daryl Gibson take over from Robbie Deans at the Crusaders and Pat Lam and Shane Howarth replace David Nucifora and Greg Cooper at the Blues.
And now it's the national championship coaches who are deciding their futures, or having their futures decided for them.
Wayne Pivac, coach of the under-performing North Harbour, has already walked the plank and Howarth, coach of the equally under-performing Auckland, has also ruled himself out of continuing next season.
All Black great Buck Shelford has expressed interest in the Auckland job while Pivac, despite his lack of success with Harbour, may also be a contender to cross the bridge and take the reins at Eden Park.
No-one expected too much of Manawatu and Counties-Manukau but they have been even more mediocre than most thought and their coaches, Dave Rennie and Greg Aidous, may have some explaining to do.
Waikato has had a woeful season, even allowing for the fact that it has lost so many players.
The saving grace for Tony Hanks, who took over from Warren Gatland, may be that it is his first season in the job.
Even the Canterbury coaches, Rob Penney and John Haggart, are under scrutiny.
Canterbury was knocked out in the semifinals last year and, while it is second in the round robin at present, it may have to at least make the final for their jobs to be secure.
Mediocrity is not tolerated in Canterbury.
Then there is Otago, which has struggled for the past three seasons and whose coach, Steve Martin, must be under pressure with a record, before last night, of 13 wins, two draws and 12 losses.
There will be many who feel it is time for a change, irrespective of how Otago finishes its campaign.
Then there are the coaches whose teams have over-achieved and whose positions are secure. These include Peter Russell and Tom Coventry, in Hawkes Bay, and Kevin Schuler and Steve Miln, in Bay of Plenty.
David Henderson and Simon Culhane are almost certainly in the same category in Southland although they would have been desperately disappointed at their failure to beat Bay of Plenty on Thursday night.
Coaching is a precarious occupation and that is why most remain open to offers from overseas or other parts of New Zealand.
The days when Laurie Mains, Alex Wyllie and John Hart had long stints with their provinces before they were promoted to the All Black job have long gone.
As Robbie Deans found out, stunning success at Super 14 level does not necessarily guarantee the top job, even after nine years in charge of the Crusaders.
Deans was remarkably patient but most coaches are not. They know that results, not loyalty, are the arbiter in the professional era.
It's little wonder that many, including Warren Gatland, are reluctant to expose themselves to the whims of their provincial boards or the Super 14 boards and the New Zealand Rugby Union who, between them, select the Super 14 coaches.
And there are those, notably former Otago coach Wayne Graham, who are reluctant to relinquish their day jobs.
He retained his position as the owner of an Otago real estate franchise rather than expose himself to the judgement of his part-time employer.
And, given the coaching merry-go-round these days, he will be glad that he did.
