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Months after a second grand final hammering in three years on AFL’s biggest day, premiership-winning Sydney Swans coach John Longmire has stood down as head coach and moved into a different role at the club.
The Swans announced on Tuesday that Longmire will take on a new role as Executive Director – Club Performance.
Long-term assistant coach Dean Cox, has been appointed as senior coach from season 2025, for an initial contract period of four years.
The smooth handover is very similar to that enjoyed by Longmire himself, when he took over from Paul Roos as Swans coach at the end of the 2010 season after a year as heir apparent.
“We respect this decision, but I must say it was a very courageous and I know difficult decision for John,” Swans chairman Andrew Pridham said in a press conference.
“John coached 333 games with a winning percentage of 63 per cent, and he guided the club to finals in all but two seasons. Under his leadership, the Sydney Swans participated in five grand finals, obviously winning the 2012 premiership.
“This represents a strike rate of better than one in every three years making the big dance over his 14-year career and I can only say it is clearly a remarkable achievement, John.
“I’m very pleased that John has agreed to remain at the club in the role of executive director of club performance post his retirement as senior coach. This follows in a similar vein after the retirements of Ron Barassi and Paul Roos.
“John will report to Tom Harley and he’ll be responsible for implementing strategies to ensure that the Sydney Swans remains a leading high-performance club and the leading high-performance club in Australia.”
The move comes after the Swans’ 60-point hammering in this year’s AFL grand final to Brisbane at the MCG – the club’s second capitulation in three years after going down to Geelong by 81 points in 2022.
An emotional Longmire blinked back tears as he paid tribute to the club he has been involved with in some capacity since 2002, which has missed finals just twice under his tenure and just three times since he joined.
“I feel absolutely grateful that I’ve spent so much time here – just can’t believe my luck,” he said.
“I was lucky to play 12 years at North Melbourne through a pretty successful era – couldn’t believe my luck there and couldn’t believe how fortunate that I’ve been to end up here. And for so long. So fortunate.
“And some of the players I’ve been able to coach, some of the staff I’ve been able to work with, but also this playing group now, they’re a wonderful group. We’ve had some great times together. And I’m very close to a lot of them.
“I can see them out there now. I won’t look at them too much because I’ll end up having a big sook, but they meant a lot to me.
“I know full well that this club is in great hands with Coxy and with that playing group. They’re awesome.
According to Pridham, the decision had been in the wings for over a year.
“John advised us some 18 months ago that he felt within himself that his time as senior coach would likely end at the completion of either season 2024 or 2025,” he said.
“The process that we have followed after John advising us of his longer-term intentions reflects our preferred approach of managed and seamless succession.
“Being a senior AFL coach is a taxing role and we greatly respect John’s desire to play an alternative, but important, part in our club’s future. His decision to step down a year earlier than had been envisaged was not an easy one for him. However, I deeply respect his reasons and the way he has worked with the club to prepare Dean as his successor, particularly over the past 18 months.”
Longmire confirmed he had originally set the end of 2025 as an ideal end point.
“I was thinking, you know, the end of next year was probably, you know, if I could get through to that point, it would be a good time to get through to that,” he said.
“We were playing in front of sold-out crowds every week, the membership was going berserk, the feeling at the SCG was enormous. And I said to Tom [Swans CEO Tom Harley] at this point ‘I’m not sure I can get through to the end of next year’. He said, ‘Maybe we’ll park it’.
“As what always happens after any season, every coach goes into a mode of – you take a deep breath. I really appreciate the time that Andrew [Pridham], yourself, and Tom gave me to think it through, and to think what’s best for myself and for the football club going forward.
“Whilst my head was sort of trying to talk myself into keep going to the end of next year, my gut was saying that’s about enough; time to rest, time to reflect on what I have been a part of to this point in time and time to re-energise.
“Probably the only way I could probably do that or properly do that would be to stop.”
John Longmire looks dejected after Sydney’s Grand Final loss to Brisbane. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/AFL Photos/Getty Images)
Longmire, who took the Swans to the flag in his second season as head coach in 2012, had considered taking extended leave following September’s most recent heartbreak.
It was the Swans’ fourth grand final loss under Longmire following grand final defeats in 2014, 2016 and 2022, but he was adamant the disastrous performance was not the reason for his abrupt departure.
“I may have made the decision to not coach if we’d have won, and maybe got to that decision quicker,” he said.
“All I know is I was thinking about that long before then. I was thinking about that and discussing with Tom and Andrew during the year.
“Part of my responsibility as a coach, which I’ve seen firsthand under ‘Roosy’, was to make sure that the club’s in a good spot. That was always in the back of my mind. It’s not always just about one game.
“I never wanted to just up and out… part of that was also making sure that, if I had those thoughts, to convey it to Andrew and Tom.”
The veteran coach said his decision was tough to make, but Cox is ready to take the reins.
“I want to thank [the Swans’ management] for allowing me the time post season to consider what the best way forward would be both for myself, and the club,” said Longmire in a statement.
“In making the decision to move on, it is important to me that I leave the role with the club in great shape, enjoying record crowds, a world-class HQ, a wonderful playing list, an experienced coaching team, and quality football department.
“I had been wrestling with the decision about whether I would coach on for 2025 since about midway through last season.
“The team was travelling really well – in fact this year as good as we ever have. However, even during this year with the team’s superb on-field form and our football department working really well in support, I felt in myself that my time as coach of the club was coming towards a close.
“After such a long time coaching, the week in, week out, really does start to wear on you. I feel that I need to step back from coaching to rest, reflect and regenerate.
“I’ve always been interested in the strategic areas of the club’s growth, and as time has gone on, I’ve felt myself being drawn more and more towards this aspect. After a bit more time to rest, I’m looking forward to helping the club on its path of continuous improvement both on and off the field.
“I knew Dean was ready and it just made sense to hand over. It would have been nice to finish with a flag, as I did as a player, but that wasn’t to be.
“I am genuinely excited for Dean. He will be a fantastic coach and will give the role a new lease of life and take it to another level.
“This is a special club. I am so fortunate to have spent nearly half of my life as part of this club with the stability and the professionalism it provides. We don’t take it for granted.”
A champion player at North Melbourne, Longmire kicked 511 goals in 200 games, winning the Coleman Medal in 1990 and a premiership in 1999.
He has coached Sydney 333 times, for 208 wins, three draws and 122 losses, earning an exemplary winning percentage of 62.91 per cent, and missing the finals just twice in 14 seasons.
His future had been the subject of much discussion in recent months after Swans chief executive Tom Harley threw his full support behind the coach.
Harley said despite the “really challenging” period for his club following the 60-point demolition by Brisbane, Sydney was staunch in its support of its most recent premiership coach.
“What I love about John is his commitment to the whole of club,” Harley told Melbourne radio station SEN.
“We are unbelievably fortunate and unbelievably grateful to have someone like him at our helm.
“He will process (the Grand Final) and that will take time and we all just need to acknowledge and respect that.”
Cox, a six-time All-Australian and West Coast Eagles premiership-winner in 2006 where he dominated the Swans, joined the Sydney coaching structure at the end of 2017.
He reportedly knocked back an approach by his former side in August to take over as coach.
Swans assistant coach Dean Cox knocked back an approach to take over the West Coast Eagles earlier this year and is the front-runner to succeed John Longmire. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
“Just as John was the beneficiary of a transition into the role from Paul Roos, I am very pleased to have been mentored into this role by John. It is very much part of the Swans way, and I’m extremely excited for next year and beyond,” said Cox in a statement.
“I’m grateful to John for his support of me and for being a great coaching mentor. Having him remain at the club is fantastic as it will allow everyone right across the organisation to draw on his vast experience.
“It’s an honour to take the baton from John. I understand the enormous responsibility this role brings, and I’m looking forward to getting to work and continuing the success of this great club for our loyal supporters.”
Longmire’s legacy will be mixed.
He will be remembered as one of the best coaches in the game, but his failure to take the Swans to a second flag under his watch will be hard to shrug.
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