Footy great claims John Longmire’s relationship with Sydney looked ‘strained’ as he believes his exit was ‘the best move’ for the Swans

Footy giant Kane Cornes has weighed in on Sydney Swans coach John Longmire’s decision to step down from his role at the club.

The 53-year-old opted to shorten his tenure as Swans boss by a year, ending an impressive 13-year spell as the club’s chief executive coach, with Longmire having initially arrived at the club in 2002 as an assistant .

Despite coaching the Swans to a premiership title in 2012, Longmire failed to repeat the feat in the years that followed, taking his side to three major finals, in 2014, 2016, 2022 and the last in 2023, but he could not win another flag. .

Following their defeat to Brisbane in last season’s grand final, Cornes believes his lack of premiership started to weigh heavily on the former North Melbourne striker, claiming his relationship at the club was ‘looking strained’.

“To me it seemed like he was somewhat burned out and I’m not sure if the relationship was somewhat strained. He was clearly on edge as the fallout from the last two grand final losses was clearly weighing on him,” Cornes told Channel Seven news.

He will be succeeded by Dean Cox, who appeared to take command of Sydney’s war room during last week’s national draft – with Longmire noticeably absent.

“Now that Dean Cox is ready to go… although the timing isn’t perfect, I think this is the best move for the club and John,” Cornes added.

Kane Cornes claimed the Longmire ‘looked burnt out’ and added it was the ‘best decision’ for the 53-year-old to resign

‘Like I said, the relationship was looking somewhat strained, so if Dean came in with a fresh voice, perhaps more of a modern outlook, he might be able to connect with the players in a different way than John and there would be they might be able to get some results from it. .’

But given his status in the sport, Longmire is unlikely to be out of action for long, with Cornes adding: ‘I think it’s really good for John Longmire.

‘There are some coaches under pressure this year. In 12 months there will be a job available for him and he will be the most sought-after coach.’

Cornes then outlined that there were several coaches in the league who were in danger of being succeeded by Longmire.

“Michael Voss is under pressure, we know Matthew Nicks is under pressure, Ken Hinkley – even though Josh Carr is going to take over. Who knows what’s happening in Fremantle.

“John Longmire can choose from any of those clubs and if not, he will be Tassie’s first coach.

‘I would appoint him tomorrow if I was managing a club just because of the program he leads and to have a coach and football club that you join every year.

“I think this is perfect for him to take a year off.” I don’t know if he wants to start coaching again, but if he does, a number of clubs will come on the phone.’

Dean Cox (left) will succeed Longmire (right) as the club’s new senior coach, with Cox apparently having already overseen the Swans’ draft

Longmire gave an emotional interview Tuesday in which he announced his decision to reporters

Longmire appeared before the media on Tuesday where he delivered an emotional speech, speaking to reporters about his decision to part ways with the Swans.

‘In making the decision to move on, it is important to me that I leave the position at the club in good shape, enjoying record attendances, a world-class headquarters, a superb fixture list, an experienced coaching team and a high-quality football department. Longmire said in a statement.

‘Since the middle of last season I have been struggling with the decision whether to continue for 2025.

‘After coaching for such a long time, the week in, week out really starts to weigh on you. I feel like I need to take a step back from coaching to rest, reflect and regenerate.

“I knew Dean was ready and it made sense to hand it over. It would have been nice to finish with a flag, like I did as a player, but that was not to be.”