Sydney Swans
Longmire returned to New South Wales to take up an assistant coaching position with the Sydney Swans in 2002. [1] [5] In 2006, he was considered to be a front-runner for the St Kilda Football Club senior coaching role, which was made vacant by the sacking of Grant Thomas, however, the role later went to then-fellow Swans assistant coach Ross Lyon. [6] In 2008, senior coach Paul Roos, appointed Longmire the Swans' "coaching co-ordinator". In a succession plan, Longmire replaced Roos as senior coach of the Sydney Swans following Roos' retirement at the end of the 2010 season. [7] [8]
Longmire's first game as the Sydney Swans senior coach in the 2011 season ended in a draw against Melbourne, with both teams scoring 11.18 (84). [9] His first win as senior coach came the next week, against Essendon in Round 2, 2011. [10] Longmire had a relatively good start to his coaching career, with only five losses in the first fourteen rounds of the season (albeit against top-four opposition in Geelong, Carlton (twice), Hawthorn and Collingwood). [11]
One of his best coaching achievements was engineering Sydney's upset 13-point victory over Geelong at Skilled Stadium in the penultimate round of the 2011 season. The Swans had not won there in more than 12 years and the home team had not lost at the ground in exactly four years and one day. Also, the Swans were the only team to beat top-four side West Coast at Patersons Stadium during the season. Those two sides won the rest of their home matches during the regular season. [11]
Longmire took Sydney to the finals in 2011, his first year as senior coach in what was the club's 13th finals appearance in 16 seasons. After beating St Kilda in the elimination finals at Etihad Stadium, the Swans were defeated by Hawthorn in the semi-finals ending what was otherwise a promising first season for Longmire in the top job. [11]
In the 2012 season in his second year as senior coach, Longmire led Sydney to third place on the AFL ladder, compiling a 16–6 record in the home-and-away season. Longmire then coached the Sydney Swans to a premiership victory over Hawthorn in the 2012 AFL Grand Final by a margin of 10 points with the final score being the Sydney Swans 14.7 (91) to Hawthorn 11.15 (81). Subsequently, his contract was extended until the end of the 2015 season. [12] [13]
In March 2014, Longmire signed a two-year contract extension which took his tenure to the end of the 2017 AFL season. [14] [15]
In the 2014 season, Longmire coached the Sydney Swans to the 2014 AFL Grand Final, but they lost to Hawthorn by a margin of 63 points with the final score being Sydney Swans 11.8 (74) to Hawthorn 21.11 (137). [16]
In the 2016 season, Longmire coached the Sydney Swans to the 2016 AFL Grand Final, but they lost to the Western Bulldogs by a margin of 22 points with the final score being Western Bulldogs 13.11 (89) to Sydney Swans 10.7 (67). [17]
In round 4 of the 2019 AFL season, Longmire coached his 200th game, a career milestone. Three rounds later, he overtook Paul Roos as the longest serving coach of the club. [18]
On 12 July 2019, Longmire extended his contract for a further three years, to remain the Sydney Swans' senior coach until at least the end of 2023. [19]
In 2020, Longmire coached the All-Stars team in a one-off 2020 State of Origin match which was played on 28 February 2020 at Docklands Stadium. [20]
In the 2022 season, Longmire coached the Sydney Swans to the 2022 AFL Grand Final when they lost to Geelong by a margin of 81 points with Geelong scoring 20.13 (133) to the Sydney Swans 8.4 (52). [21] [22]
On 2 March 2023, it was announced that Longmire had signed a two-year extension contract to remain the Sydney Swans senior coach until at least the end of 2025. [5]
In the 2024 season, Longmire coached the Sydney Swans to the 2024 AFL Grand Final, when they lost to Brisbane Lions by a margin of 60 points with Brisbane Lions scoring 18.12 (120) to the Sydney Swans 9.6 (60). [23] [24]
John Longmire was described as a "shattered man" after the Grand Final. [25] Pundits noted his dejected state, calling him a "broken man." Longmire was visibly emotional, with tears welling in his eyes, even as other team members were discussing game strategy. [26]
The defeat marked the fourth successive Grand Final loss for Longmire. This was then compounded by having to conduct his post-match press conference while the victorious Brisbane Lions were celebrating. [27] Amidst uproarious revelry, Longmire struggled to hear the questions posed by journalists. [28] His own remarks were crowded out by joyous singing and the popping of champagne corks. [29] Such a thin wall separating the teams did little to ease Longmire's pain, and drew strong criticism from media. [28]
The loss, coupled with other factors like playing an injured player, provoked harsh appraisals of Longmire from fans and media. [30] Sydney leadership elected to stand him down from senior coaching. A falling out with former captain Luke Parker was cited as a major factor in Longmire's downfall. [31]
Longmire's official resignation as Sydney coach was lodged on 26 November 2024, with assistant Dean Cox taking over. [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43]
Allegations of missing recordings
Allegations that Longmire sought to destroy or "bury" Grand Final recordings from the Sydney coaches box, have continued to dog him after exiting Sydney. [44]
It emerged in June 2025 that an audio recording device from a microphone Longmire wore that day, was not returned to AFL officials as stipulated. Longmire is reported to have removed an “SD card” from the recording device. [45] The microphone was recording audio for AFL Media’s annual Sound The Alarm documentary. The long-running series utilizes audio recordings from both teams' coach's box on Grand Final day. [46]
Reporter Mitch Cleary stated that Longmire was paid a fee for agreeing to the arrangement. [47] This was the case with all previous coaches since the series began in 2019. In the case of Longmire, however, the audio never made it back to the producers. [44] This impasse continued despite repeated enquiries from league officials. Such intransigence has seen speculation Longmire could be barred, by the AFL executive, from any coaching return until the recordings are furnished. “Things were said in the box that he didn’t want other ears to hear” said Cleary of Longmire. Journalist Caroline Wilson said that "halfway through the first quarter" Longmire had become "panicked" and begun lashing out at others. [47]
Nick Riewoldt speculated the recordings could produce "reputational or brand damage" for Longmire. [47] He went on to say that there were "some things said about players" that "people don’t want to ever hear.” [45] According to Caroline Wilson, such public outrage and legal fallout could spell financial devastation for the embattled Longmire. Wilson suggested that Longmire's subsequent actions made perfect sense. She reasoned that “giving up the money" he was paid for allowing recording access, would be the "cheaper price” when compared to public disgrace. [47]
Longmire himself later confirmed these reports, but said his actions were spurred only by desire to avoid the "tough listening." [48]
“I’ve listened to all the grand finals I’ve been in" said Longmire, adding "I intended to do the same with this one.” [49] But after this, his fourth straight loss on the biggest stage, Longmire sought a different approach. "I just didn’t want to re-live it again" he admitted. [48]
Longmire defended his reluctance, saying “I'd done it before. I’d listened and tried to learn something out of those games before. I just didn’t want to do it again." [50]
When pressed on the AFL's legal ownership of the devices and recordings, the former Swans' coach reacted furiously. [48] An indignant Longmire suggested that the AFL had no rights to their own recordings, blatantly contravening a contract he himself had signed. [50] "My assumption was it was my IP" said Longmire, suggesting all attempts to acquire the audio would meet fierce opposition. [48]
Experts have since categorized the recordings as an example of lost media.
