3 minute read
Sydney Swans coach John Longmire has handed the reins to long-time assistant Dean Cox, deciding to step down after his 14th season in charge of the AFL club.
John Longmire has left the door open for a return to AFL coaching after making way for long-time assistant Dean Cox to take the reins at the Sydney Swans from 2025.
For the past 18 months, the 2012 premiership coach had planned on stepping down at the end of either 2024 or 2025 but did not officially inform club powerbrokers of his decision until last week.
The most successful coach in Swans history will remain at the club as executive director of club performance, concerning himself with leadership and strategy rather than the football department. He will remain in the role for at least one year.
Longmire informed players of his departure in an emotional team meeting on Tuesday, and came close to tears fronting the media at the Swans headquarters later that afternoon.
A crowd of more than 50 players, loved ones and staff attended Longmire's snap press conference in a marker of the reputation he built over 14 years and 333 games in charge at Sydney.
Asked whether he would ever coach again, potentially at the AFL's forthcoming 19th franchise the Tasmania Devils, Longmire said he was not in a position to consider his long-term future.
"I'm not talking about the Tassie Devils, let's just get through today," he said with a laugh.
"I can only comment on how I feel today. I need a rest, I need to regenerate myself for whatever I do in the future.
"My first thoughts are what can I do here? What can we do with this (new role)?"
The big loss in the 2024 grand final - Longmire's 333rd game in charge and fifth appearance in the decider - was not a significant factor in his decision making.
"I didn't know at that point," he said.
"Sometimes you just need a bit of time to work it out. My last game as a player was a premiership, and I pulled the pin after that.
"I didn't know whether that'd be my last game or not. I wasn't 100 per cent sure.
"All I know was that halfway through the year, and even before that, I was talking to Tom (Harley, chief executive) and Andrew (Pridham, chairman) about it."
He admitted a grand final win likely wouldn't have changed his mind.
"I may have made the decision to not coach if we'd had won, and maybe even got to that decision quicker," he said.
"So all I know is I was thinking about that long before then."
The Swans had consistently dismissed speculation regarding a succession plan from Longmire to Cox, who has been on the coaching staff since 2017.
But former West Coast ruckman Cox turned down multiple approaches to return to the Eagles as their head coach, most recently during the 2024 season.
"There was nothing in place through that process," said Cox, who has signed a four-year deal.
"So mine was a family decision, the ability to really enjoy where we are as a family, and with the possibility of hopefully coaching this great club one day."
Longmire himself was part of a succession plan, taking over from 2005 premiership mentor Paul Roos at the end of 2010, and admitted he'd always wanted to repeat that path.
"I thought, if I'm going to do it, probably now's the time to do it," he said.
"And I always had a dream of making sure that I'd be able to hand the club over in as good a position as I could possibly do it."
A champion player at North Melbourne, Longmire kicked 511 goals in 200 games, winning the Coleman Medal in 1990 and a premiership in 1999.
Longmire, 53, has been in charge of the Swans since 2011 after initially joining as an assistant coach for the 2002 season.
He coached them to the 2012 premiership triumph over Hawthorn, as well as to grand-final losses in the 2014, 2016, 2022 and 2024 deciders.
With 208 wins, three draws and 122 losses to his name, Longmire earned an exemplary winning percentage of 62.91 per cent, and missed the finals just twice in 14 seasons.