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Luring Lance Franklin, resisting opposition overtures and five grand finals were all among the big moments in John Longmire's tenure as Sydney coach.
FIVE DEFINING MOMENTS OF JOHN LONGMIRE'S COACHING TENURE:-
* 2012 PREMIERSHIP
In just his second year at the helm, Longmire tasted the sweet glory of premiership success. Sydney finished the regular season third on the ladder, then beat Adelaide away in a qualifying final and bested Collingwood in a home preliminary final. Then, Hawthorn and Sydney played out one of the great modern day grand finals, with the Swans prevailing by 10 points at the MCG. With it, Longmire won his first and only premiership.
* 2013 RECRUITMENT OF LANCE FRANKLIN
The Swans pulled one of the all-time great swifties when they grabbed Lance Franklin's free agency signature from right under the noses of crosstown rivals GWS. The superstar forward signed an unprecedented bumper nine-year deal to spearhead Longmire's attack. At the time, the third-year coach said: "We understand that nine-year contracts are rare in AFL football, but so too are players the quality of Lance Franklin." He was spot on. While he didn't snare an elusive premiership despite playing in three grand finals for the Swans, Franklin's move delivered publicity, talent and a whole lot of goals.
* 2019 INTEREST FROM NORTH MELBOURNE
After Brad Scott's resignation in 2019, North Melbourne set their sights on luring favourite son Longmire back to his old club. The offer was a bumper one, reported to be as much as $6 million over five years. With a year to go on his contract, Longmire instead opted to sign a three-year extension through to the end of the 2023 season.
* 2020-2021 RESURGENCE IN THE Hub
Sydney were going through arguably the most difficult period of Longmire's tenure, knocked out in an elimination final in 2018 then missing the finals in 2019. Then the strange, shortened COVID-19-affected 2020 season came around. While the Swans missed the finals again, Longmire later opened up on how spending so much time with the club's younger group of players, recognising their talent and mentality, put a spring in his step and revitalised him. Two years later the Swans reached the grand final.
* 2024 GRAND-FINAL LOSS
Two years on from their grand-final thrashing at the hands of Geelong, the Swans had a shot at redemption in the 2024 decider against Brisbane. Minor premiers and hotly fancied, the Swans for all money looked ready to go. Then the opening siren sounded. After Swan Will Hayward opened the scoring, the Lions seized the game by the scruff of the neck and humiliated the Swans. It was Longmire's fourth grand-final loss and his last game at the helm.
