Sydney premiership coach John Longmire has ruled himself out of returning to the AFL as a senior coach after missing out on the Tasmania Devils role won by Ken Hinkley.
Longmire was in the mix to become the inaugural coach of the Devils, but along with Nathan Buckley, missed out.
He will remain in Sydney in an off-field role at the Swans.
“I certainly explored it. I went down the path, I looked at it seriously. There's no question with that," Longmire said on AFL360.
“I'm really fortunate – I helped start a business up here 18 months ago that I'm really jumping into and enjoying. There's plenty we've done but plenty to do.
“Some great potential in that, some great growth. Really looking forward to that with some people here at the Sydney Swans.
“And I'm going to do a bit of travel, I haven't done any travel yet. Looking forward to that and watching my kids play sport.
“I'll be staying here in Sydney, and focused on the business we're building here that's going really well and has great potential. So, I'm looking forward to that.”
Longmire explained the Tasmania prospect, and alluded to the role not being the right fit.
“Looking back on it, I was probably asking more questions about them than they were asking about me,” Longmire said.
John Longmire didn't get the Tasmania Devils job.
And now, the Swans premiership boss has decided whether he wants to return to AFL coaching 👇 #AFL360 pic.twitter.com/hpB0Oqfaxs
— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) July 22, 2026
“I think that told me more than anything, I guess, on where I sat.
“From that perspective, I said at the very start of this, a few weeks ago now, that these things becoming clearer over time.
“I think that certainly happened with me. It certainly became clearer over time about where I sat with my coaching at the moment.”
