'I'm not talking about the Tassie Devils': John Longmire's priceless reaction when quizzed on potential coaching future
John Longmire did not rule out the prospect of picking up another coaching job as he addressed the news that he'd stepped away as head coach of the Sydney Swans.
While Longmire has ended a 14-year reign as Sydney's head coach with a year to run on his contract, the 53-year-old will remain at the Swans in 2025 in the role of executive director of club performance.
But beyond 2025, the future of the highly respected coach, who led the Swans to 12 finals series from 14 seasons and steered the club to the 2012 premiership, is uncertain.
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"I can only comment on how I feel today," Longmire said when asked if he might take up another coaching gig at some point.
"I need a rest and I need to regenerate myself into whatever I do in the future, and my first thoughts are, 'What can I do here? What can we do with this [the club headquarters]?'. It's a pretty good joint."
Longmire was then asked if he would consider coaching the Tasmania Devils, who will enter the AFL in 2028.
"I'm not talking about the Tassie Devils," he laughed. "Let's just get through today."
Former Sydney Swans head coach John Longmire (left), chairman Andrew Pridham (centre) and new head coach Dean Cox at the club's headquarters on Tuesday. Getty
Longmire addressed a packed room at the Swans' Moore Park headquarters in a joint press conference with chairman Andrew Pridham and Dean Cox, who's moved from being an assistant coach to head coach.
Among the many others in the room were media, club staff, and past and present Swans players.
The man affectionately known as "Horse" will report to chief executive Tom Harley in his new role, in which his time at the Swans will extend to 23 years. He joined the club as an assistant coach under Rodney Eade in 2002.
He batted away a suggestion that he was Cox's boss in his new position.
"No, it doesn't make me Coxy's boss. No, that's not going to happen," Longmire laughed, before elaborating on his move into the role of executive director of club performance.
"As Andrew hinted on before ... I've been really interested in things in the footy club's performance, clearly; that's my responsibility every week, year in, year out," Longmire said.
"But I've always thought a bit broader than that.
"I was lucky I worked at IMG for a period of time and got a great grounding ... there. I really enjoyed that. I've done some stuff with the [AFL] Players Association. I've done different things over time that made me think differently about the game of football.
"So whilst I've been coach of this footy club I've looked at those guys [club staff] and thought it'd be pretty good to do that stuff, too."
