Sad ‘falling out’ in middle of John Longmire Swans bombshell

The Sydney Swans have confirmed John Longmire has quit as coach with sad details emerging about the shock news.

John Longmire has quit as coach of the Sydney Swans and sad details are emerging.

The football club released a statement on Tuesday morning announcing the its longest serving coach has stepped down.

Former Swans assistant coach Dean Cox has been Longmire’s chief lieutenant since he joined the club in 2017 and has now been promoted to the top job.

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Code Sports first reported Longmire has been meeting with senior players to tell them of his decision before the news leaked out.

Longmire faced reporters on Tuesday afternoon and spoke about the reasons behind why he’d elected to call time on his coaching career at the club.

Sydney announced in its Tuesday statement the 53-year-old will still have a role with the club and has taken up a newly created position as executive director of club performance.

The bombshell news has come from nowhere with Longmire still contracted until the end of the 2025 season.

SEN reporter Sam Edmund said the news had been communicated to Longmire’s ‘inner circle’ in recent days. The popular coach shocked even those close to him, with reports suggesting many of those confidantes still expected 2025 to be his final season.

Details about the circumstances leading up to Longmire’s decision emerged on Tuesday morning with football journalist Tom Morris reporting on SEN that a “falling out” with former captain Luke Parker was one of the factors involved.

Parker moved to North Melbourne during the 2024 AFL Trade Period after he requested to be traded following the 2024 grand final loss to the Lions.

The 31-year-old left the Swans as a three-time best and fairest winner with 293 games to his name.

“There was also a falling out with Luke Parker,” Morris said.

John Longmire fought back the tears in his farewell press conference. Photo: Fox Sports News.

Longmire tears up in emotional scenes

Longmire wiped away tears in an emotional press conference on Tuesday afternoon as he thanked Swans players, staff and his family.

“Lastly I want to thank Shelley and the kids,” Longmire said.

“It’s a bit of an interesting journey in the family of a coach. I’ve been lucky to do it at this club and with the support of this club.

“But I couldn’t have done it without my wife and three kids,” he said as the tears built up in his eyes.

Longmire said he had begun to question if he could see out his coaching contract ahead of the 2023 season and held talks with club chairman Andrew Pridham and club CEO Tom Harley about a different role.

“I started talking to them over the past 18 months about something beyond coaching and I’d always been interested in that,” Longmire said.

“About 18 months ago I said to them I’m not sure if I can get through until the end of next year. We sort of said we’d just see how we go and I was really fortunate this year to see the team’s progression and play some of the best football I think I’ve ever seen.

“Towards the end of this year I thought maybe I can get through until the end of 2025.

“As what always happens after any season, you take a deep breath and you go away and I really appreciate the time I was given to think it through and to think what’s best for myself and the football club.

“Whilst my head was trying to talk myself into keep going until the end of next year, my gut was saying that’s about enough.

“It’s time to rest, reflect and re-energise and probably the only way I could do that or properly do that would be to stop.

While many were quick to point the finger to the club’s grand final loss as the reason behind why Longmire elected to walk away, the veteran leader said it had no bearing on his call.

“I may have made the decision to not coach if we’d have won and maybe even got to that decision quicker,” Longmire said.

He wouldn’t be drawn on questions about whether he would be interested in coaching the AFL’s 19th team when Tasmania joins the league in 2028.

Luke Parker and John Longmire. Photo: Quinn Rooney and Dylan Burns, Getty.

“How big this falling out with Luke Parker is depends on who you speak to. My understanding is Luke Parker left for a number of reasons and one of those reason is that him and John Longmire weren’t on the terms they had been over the course of his career.

“Clearly it was a difficult year for Luke Parker. His injuries. His suspension in the VFL and the fact that he wasn’t in the team at the start. He probably thought he was unlikely to be in the team full time in 2025 despite being contracted.

“So this falling out with Luke Parker and John Longmire may not have been symptomatic of the wider playing group, but it did play a part in Luke Parker looking around and ending up at North Melbourne via a trade.

“Regardless of that, players over the journey loved John Longmire.”

Cox’s promotion had been seen as a matter of “when” rather than “if”.

The former West Coast ruckman got tongues wagging when he knocked back an approach from the Eagles when the club began its search for a new coach earlier this year.

Cox remained loyal to the Swans despite West Coast listing him as one of its preferred candidates following the departure of Adam Simpson in the middle of the season

Longmire took over from Paul Roos in 2011 and coached the Swans in 333 matches including 208 wins.

He is the longest tenured coach in Sydney Swans history. He said in a statement released by the club that Cox is ready to take over.

“I want to thank Andrew (chairman Andrew Pridham) and Tom (CEO Tom Harley) for allowing me the time post season to consider what the best way forward would be both for myself, and the club,” he said.

John Longmire took the 2024 grand final defeat hard. Photo: Phil Hillyard.

“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.

“I want to especially thank Andrew, Tom, the club, and this fantastic playing group for their support.

“From the Board down, 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. It’s a big part of the reason the club has managed to stay so competitive year in, year out, despite the equalised nature of the competition.

John Longmire and his replacement Dean Cox. Photos: Getty.

“Thanks go to the many players that I’ve coached, and all the staff that have supported the team and myself over such a long period of time. There are so many memories and special friendships that I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have made.

“And thanks to the thousands of supporters that I’ve either personally met or have heard at a game. Your support for myself and this team has been unwavering.

“Most importantly, I want to thank my family. Shelley and I moved to Sydney over 22 years ago having just been married. For a lot of the time when you’re coaching, it’s football club first, and family second.

“For periods in the early years, I’d coach the reserves in the morning, be a line coach for the senior team in the afternoon, then on Sunday travel interstate to forward scout the opposition. All with three kids under the age of five.

“To Shelley, Tom, Billy, and Sahara, thank you so much for providing me with unwavering support over such a long time. I couldn’t have done it without you. My brother Beau, sister Shelley, father Fred and late mother Christine, thank you as well.”

He led the Swans to three minor premierships in 2014, 2016 and 2021 and coached Sydney to five grand finals in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2022 and 2024.

His one premiership win came when Sydney won the 2012 AFL Grand Final.

Longmire’s grand final record will read one win, four losses.

The most painful of those defeats was this year’s grand final loss to the Brisbane Lions where the club was thrashed in humiliating fashion.

The pain was compounded in a devastating post-match press conference where he spoke to reporters while the Brisbane Lions celebrated the win on the other side of the wall.

John Longmire leaves a lasting legacy. Photo by Daniel Pockett/AFL Photos/Getty Images.

Sydney have lost their past three grand finals by a combined margin of 163 points.

He will be remembered as one of the most successful and stable coaches of the modern era but one who left some premiership cups on the table.

More recently he will be remembered — and haunted by — grand final selection gambles that blew up in the team’s face.

Longmire played 200 games for North Melbourne and was part of the Kangaroos’ 1999 premiership side. He also won the Coleman Medal in 1990.

He was well-liked across the entire football industry, managing to stay one of the nice guys of the competition right until his final days.

Cox, meanwhile, said he’s excited for the next chapter.

“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,” he said.

“It is very much part of the Swans way, and I’m extremely excited for next year and beyond.

“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.”

Originally published as Sad ‘falling out’ in middle of John Longmire Swans bombshell