The following is a list of coaches who have coached the Sydney Swans at a game of Australian rules football in the Australian Football League (AFL), formally the VFL. They were known as South Melbourne prior to their relocation to Sydney in 1982.
| # | Coach | G | W | L | D | Win% | FG | FW | FL | FD | F Win% | GF | P | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charlie Ricketts | 41 | 30 | 11 | 0 | 73.17 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 40.00 | 2 | 1 | 1909–1912 |
| 2 | Bill Thomas | 39 | 26 | 12 | 1 | 66.67 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1910–1911 |
| 3 | Harvey Kelly | 19 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 73.68 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1913 |
| 4 | Vic Belcher | 53 | 31 | 21 | 1 | 58.49 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 1914–1917 |
| 5 | Henry Elms | 33 | 27 | 6 | 0 | 81.82 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 1 | 1918–1919 |
| 6 | Herb Howson | 33 | 27 | 6 | 0 | 81.82 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.67 | 1 | 1 | 1918–1919 |
| 7 | Arthur Hiskins | 16 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 43.75 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1920 |
| 8 | Artie Wood | 16 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 31.25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1921 |
| 9 | Roy Cazaly | 52 | 12 | 38 | 2 | 23.08 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1922–1938 |
| 10 | Charlie Pannam | 108 | 54 | 54 | 0 | 50.00 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 40.00 | 0 | 0 | 1923–1928 |
| 11 | Jim Caldwell | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 25.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1929 |
| 12 | Fred Fleiter | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 42.86 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1929 |
| 13 | Paddy Scanlan | 36 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 50.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1930–1931 |
| 14 | Johnny Leonard | 19 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 68.42 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 1932 |
| 15 | Jack Bisset | 80 | 63 | 17 | 0 | 78.75 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 60.00 | 4 | 1 | 1933–1936 |
| 16 | Brighton Diggins† | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1935 |
| 17 | Herbie Matthews | 90 | 27 | 62 | 1 | 30.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1939–1957 |
| 18 | Jack Baggott | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 38.89 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1940 |
| 19 | Joe Kelly | 68 | 35 | 33 | 0 | 51.47 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 | 0 | 0 | 1941–1944 |
| 20 | Bill Adams | 70 | 39 | 30 | 1 | 55.71 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 | 1 | 0 | 1945–1948 |
| 21 | Jack Hale | 28 | 9 | 19 | 0 | 32.14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1948–1949 |
| 22 | Gordon Lane | 55 | 24 | 29 | 2 | 43.64 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1950–1952 |
| 23 | Laurie Nash | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 50.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1953 |
| 24 | Ron Clegg | 36 | 15 | 21 | 0 | 41.67 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1958–59 |
| 25 | Bill Faul | 36 | 12 | 24 | 0 | 33.33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1960–1961 |
| 26 | Noel McMahen | 54 | 9 | 45 | 0 | 16.67 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1962–1964 |
| 27 | Bob Skilton | 35 | 16 | 19 | 0 | 45.71 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1965–1966 |
| 28 | Tommy Lahiff† | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1965 |
| 29 | Alan Miller | 38 | 11 | 25 | 2 | 28.95 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1967–1968 |
| 30 | Norm Smith | 87 | 26 | 61 | 0 | 29.89 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 1969–1972 |
| 31 | Graeme John | 66 | 15 | 50 | 1 | 22.73 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1973–1975 |
| 32 | Ian Stewart | 111 | 49 | 61 | 1 | 44.14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 1976–1977 1979–1981 |
| 33 | Des Tuddenham | 22 | 9 | 13 | 0 | 40.91 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1978 |
| 34 | Ricky Quade | 57 | 25 | 32 | 0 | 43.86 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1982–1984 |
| 35 | Tony Franklin† | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1984 |
| 36 | Bob Hammond | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 37.50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1984 |
| 37 | John Northey | 22 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 27.27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1985 |
| 38 | Tom Hafey | 70 | 43 | 27 | 0 | 61.43 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 1986–1988 |
| 39 | Col Kinnear | 66 | 23 | 42 | 1 | 34.85 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1989–1991 |
| 40 | Gary Buckenara | 25 | 3 | 21 | 1 | 12.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1992–1993 |
| 41 | Brett Scott† | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1993 |
| 42 | Ron Barassi | 59 | 13 | 46 | 0 | 22.03 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1993–1995 |
| 43 | Rodney Eade | 152 | 81 | 69 | 2 | 53.29 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 37.50 | 1 | 0 | 1996–2002 |
| 44 | Paul Roos | 202 | 116 | 84 | 2 | 57.43 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 56.25 | 2 | 1 | 2002–2010 |
| 45 | John Longmire | 333 | 208 | 122 | 3 | 62.91 | 28 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 50.00 | 5 | 1 | 2011–2024 |
| 46 | Dean Cox | 23 | 12 | 11 | 0 | 52.17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 2025– |
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| # | Coach | G | W | L | D | Win% | FG | FW | FL | FD | F Win% | GF | P | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott Gowans | 44 | 16 | 28 | 0 | 36.36 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 | 0 | 0 | 2022 (S7)–2025 |
| 2 | Colin O'Riordan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 2026– |
| # | Number of coaches | ||
| G | Total games coached | FG | Finals games coached |
| W | Total wins | FW | Finals wins |
| L | Total losses | FL | Finals losses |
| D | Total draws | FD | Finals draws |
| Win% | Overall winning percentage | F Win% | Finals winning percentage |
| GF | Grand Final appearances: number of AFL Grand Final appearances achieved by the coach | ||
| P | Premierships: number of premierships achieved by the coach | ||
| † | Caretaker coach | ||