Swans are bomb! Longmire exits after ignominious AFL grand final defeat, assistant set to step up

Months after their second grand final in three years on the AFL’s biggest day, premiership-winning Sydney Swans coach John Longmire is set to retire.

According to multiple reports, the 53-year-old will tell Swans players in Sydney that he has decided to end his 14-year stay at the club. A press conference is scheduled for 1:30 pm ET.

It comes after the Swans scored 60 points in this year’s AFL grand final over the Brisbane Lions at the MCG – the club’s second capitulation in three years after going 81 to the Geelong Cats in 2022.

Longmire, who led the Swans to the flag in his second season as head coach in 2012, was considering taking a long break after his latest heartbreak in September. It was the Swans’ fourth grand final defeat under Longmire, following grand final defeats in 2014, 2016 and 2022.

His future has been the subject of much debate in recent months after Swans chief executive Tom Harley gave the coach his full backing.

Sydney head coach John Longmire will announce his retirement today. @sydneyswans coach, effective immediately.

The decision was only made in the last week or two. Players will be told about this over the next few hours.@FootyonNine @9NewsMelb

— Tom Morris (@tommorris32) November 25, 2024

Harley said despite a “really difficult” period for his club following a 60-point demolition of Brisbane, Sydney had been steadfast in their support of their latest premiership coach.

“What I like about John is his dedication to the whole club,” Harley told Melbourne radio. SEN.

“We are incredibly lucky and incredibly grateful to have someone like him at our helm.

“He will prepare (the grand final) and it will take time and we all just need to acknowledge and respect that.”

Assistant coach Dean Cox has been groomed to succeed Longmire and is the likely favorite to take his place.

Confirmed: Dean Cox is Sydney’s new coach.

This came three months after he turned down the opportunity to become a West Coast coach. https://t.co/19TzWLXKxx

— Mitch Cleary (@cleary_mitch) November 25, 2024

Cox, a six-time Australian Championship winner and the West Coast Eagles’ dominant 2006 win over the Swans, joined Sydney’s coaching team at the end of 2017.

He reportedly turned down an offer from his former team to take over as coach in August.

Former coach Paul Roos, who orchestrated the Swans’ 72-year drought in 2005, recently said the Swans would consider challenging on the big stage unless Longmire adapts his game plan to the wider and longer MCG pitch.

“They are no longer a tough, tough, defensive team that is difficult to score,” Roos told the ABC.

“They are a difficult team to beat because they are very talented, but they are not difficult to play against. They play in a style that suits their home ground, which is further enhanced at the MCG. How many times do we look at the screen (in the grand final) … very, very rarely there are more Swans players in the frame than Lions players. They didn’t even get numbers for the competition, which I think is a big concern.”

The MCG is 160m long and 141m wide compared to the SCG which is 5m shorter and 5m narrower.

The Swans greats have also called for a squad overhaul ahead of the 2025 campaign.

“Now this conversation has to happen (who needs to go). They have to bring good players into the market who will make a difference,” he said. “Again, we’re talking about profit. We’re talking about a great football club.

“I don’t get carried away, like some experts, by issues of John Longmire, culture and the like. There is no doubt that the talent in terms of management, structure and football club is there.

“But it’s two (grand finals) in three years, mostly with the same group. There are some holes in the organization in terms of game plan and now potentially personnel. If John and the coaching staff firmly believe that there are players who can’t perform on the biggest stage, they need to get rid of them. It’s a tough industry, but that’s the reality.”

This recovery phase will now fall on someone else’s shoulder.

Longmire’s legacy will be mixed.

He will be remembered as one of the best managers in the game, but his failure to take the Swans to a second flag under his leadership will be hard to ignore.