Sydney coach John Longmire to reject lucrative North Melbourne offer and stick with Swans

He’s been the subject of a major push to return back to the club where he played in a premiership but John Longmire will stay at the Swans. He opens up on what brought him to the decision.

John Longmire is committed to Sydney. Picture: Getty Images

Sydney coach John Longmire has rejected a lucrative offer to take over North Melbourne.

The Swans will in the next 24 hours announce a new deal for Longmire. He is already contracted until the end of 2020 but his extension will ensure he stays with Sydney until the end of 2023.

North Melbourne’s ‘Godfather’ offer to their former favourite son whipped the media into a frenzy, but Longmire has indicated he never seriously considered jumping ship after the Swans made it profoundly clear that he was still their man for the future.

SUBSCRIBE TO SACKED ON ITUNES HERE

The road to Longmire announcing a three-year extension might have presented like a drawn out saga, but in reality, the 48-year-old’s manager met with Sydney chief Tom Harley for the first time last Friday and a deal was struck by early this week.

What did take time was Longmire going through what he describes as a “deep” personal process with those closest, to ensure he was being true to himself about still having the energy and drive to do justice to agreeing to remain at the helm of the Swans into a second decade.

MICK MCGUANE: WHY ROOS MUST LOCK IN SHAW

AFL TIPS: WHO ARE THE EXPERTS PICKING THIS WEEK?

TEAMS: SEE ALL THE INS AND OUTS FOR ROUND 17

More than 10 years at one club is rare, and Longmire also wanted assurances from the Swans that they had no appetite for a new voice before deciding it was the right thing.

Longmire’s romantic link to the Kangaroos might have been a focus for others, but for the man himself, it never came into his thinking.

“I’m not going to comment on other clubs. The reality is that if the Swans thought it was a relevant time for me (and) for them to look for someone else to take on the new guard of players coming through, that would have been the only situation in which I wouldn’t have been here next year,” Longmire told News Corp.

“And we needed to sit down and work through what that looked like. The club and I were really open with that and they were very keen for me to not only keep going next year but keep going beyond that and take this new group forward. I was thrilled and I am really excited by that.

“They made it clear right from the start that they were keen for me to keep coaching, but we had to work through that and what does it really look like? It’s not just a matter of a tick of the box and everyone moves on.”

Longmire has three high school aged children who were all born and have lived their entire lives in Sydney, and are now part of the club’s thriving academy. The Swans will have a women’s team from 2021, and Longmire’s daughter has opportunity in front of her just like his two sons.

John Longmire is committed to Sydney. Picture: Getty Images

A couple of months ago the Swans opened a new training facility and by the end of next year the centre of excellence that Longmire has poured his energy into will be opened.

To turn his back on all those opportunities, not to mention the success he hopes awaits his talented young group of players would have been a monumental call.

Coaching is a life decision, but Longmire has decided once again, that Sydney is his life.

“(The self-reflection) is a process I’ve been through before but it was probably on a bit of a deeper level this time,” he said.

“It’d be irresponsible of me not to do that and it would be the wrong thing to do by the club, the wrong thing to do by my family, the wrong thing to do by the players. It was a responsibility and a process I had to have and had to go through to make sure it was right.

“We needed to make sure it was the right thing to do for the next stage of our life and it certainly is.”

John Longmire is set to extend his stay at the Swans. Pic: Getty Images

North Melbourne interim coach Rhyce Shaw is in the box seat. Pic: David Caird

Longmire’s decision means North Melbourne interim coach Rhyce Shaw is in the box seat to keep the gig after an excellent start to his senior coaching tenure.

The Roos have won four of their past five games under Shaw to rejuvenate their finals hopes.

The Roos’ players have voiced their strong support for Shaw remaining in the job permanently.

After a slow start, North is only one win outside the eight.

The Roos take on Essendon on Saturday.