The unique agreement is a break from tradition in coaching contracts and can be ended by either party at short notice, meaning the club could terminate Craig's employment at any time without having to pay out a large sum of money.
The club has declined to reveal the exact amount of notice each party is required to give in the case of termination.
Craig is in his seventh season as coach of the Crows, and said he was happy to be treated in the same manner as a senior player and be judged on his performance.
"It [the agreement] is not for everyone … but it's certainly right for me. It's something I've been talking to (chairman) Rob Chapman and (chief executive) Steven (Trigg) about for a long time," Craig said on Monday.
"The only security I need is my belief to do the job. I don’t need a two or three-year (safety) net.
"I have great trust in this football club because they appointed me when they didn't have to. They could've appointed Rodney Eade or Terry Wallace. It would've been a tough decision to appoint Neil Craig back then (in 2004) and that's why I have great confidence in this club.
"If it's (the decision for me) to go on they will say that. If it's not to go on it won't be, and it'll be for very clear reasons."
Craig was one of eight senior coaches coming out of contract at the end of the season, and has been under heavy scrutiny after failing to take Adelaide to the finals for the first time in his tenure last year.
Trigg was hopeful the changes in the terms of employment would "put to bed" speculation over Craig's future before the start of the season proper, but said the 'timeless' nature of the agreement could leave the club open to ongoing scrutiny.
"It puts us on the hook because we need to make a constant assessment about whether we're headed in the right direction with our senior coach. For those out there, who say 'it's all very comfortable', it's far from it," Trigg said.
"In fact, this is all about performance. It's not about a job for life."
Craig has repeatedly said he won't coach another AFL club, and the new agreement gives him the flexibility to remain at West Lakes in a different role, likely to be in high performance, when his coaching tenure ends.
The arrangement follows moves by Collingwood and the Sydney Swans last season, in which premiership coaches Mick Malthouse and Paul Roos were offered positions at their respective clubs at the end of their tenures.
However, in both cases the deals were struck with replacement coaches, Nathan Buckley and John Longmire, in mind.
Trigg denied there was a succession plan in place, or a ready-made replacement for Craig at West Lakes, but said the club would prefer to promote from within when the time came to appoint a new senior coach.
"As of today we don't have an assistant coach with a guarantee. You would expect us though with good management practice to have a very clear picture of their (the assistant coaches') capabilities and seeing which one or ones might be able to (take over as senior coach one day)," Trigg said.
"Neil has been in on that discussion to his credit for a couple of years now, and that’s not to send a signal that it's an urgent issue about who is coming next.
"They are difficult roles to fulfill and there's a certain element of risk when you bring someone in from the outside. We're pumping some training into some guys to try and make sure they're ready if Neil gets the stitch on a short-term basis or a long-term basis.
"It makes things a lot easier if I know the next one is there and ready."
