Sydney premiership mentor John Longmire sits at the top of Melbourne’s wish list to replace Simon Goodwin as Demons coach.
Foxfooty.com.au understands that Longmire’s pedigree and long run of success at the Swans makes him the preferred choice for the role among a plethora of other candidates.
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One of at least 22 options in the mix to fill the Demons’ void, Longmire has been listed alongside the likes of former Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley and recently-departed West Coast coach Adam Simpson as possible fits.
Simpson on AFL 360 last week denied false reports that he had moved from Western Australia, before adding that he doesn’t currently have an interest in becoming a head coach “at the moment”.
His Fox Footy colleague in Buckley, a Magpies legend, is believed to be seen more as a potential key to Tasmania’s entrance in the AFL in coming years, and as a result less likely to take up any offer proposed by Melbourne.
The 2012 premiership coach is currently working as an executive director of club performance at Sydney, having stepped down from the role in November last year with Dean Cox as his successor.
Sydney are currently very happy with Longmire’s transition into his new role off-field, and there has been no suggestion from Longmire he’s keen to take up a new role elsewhere.
Crucially, Melbourne are currently the only club without a head coach heading into the 2026 season. Carlton are widely believed to be the only other AFL club who may part with their current coach at season’s end in Michael Voss — who has been dealt a number of cruel blows in the form of injury this year.
Goodwin, an incredibly well-respected figure at Melbourne for over a decade, coached his last game for the club last Saturday in a thumping 83-point win over West Coast at Marvel Stadium.
How the Goodwin sacking went down | 00:43
He coached 193 games across nearly nine seasons for the Demons, with a winning percentage of 55.18%.
It is important to note than when quizzed during Goodwin’s press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Green emphatically denied the “canvassing” of anyone else who could potentially take over as head coach at the club.
“We’ll speak about that in the future. We only (just) came to a decision about Simon … that’ll come, next day or so,” Green told media.
Speaking to ABC on Tuesday evening, Swans premiership coach Paul Roos — the man Longmire took over from at the end of 2010 — speculated the reason for the sudden axing wad to make immediate contact with a coach such as Longmire.
“Clearly, the pros of getting rid of him now is your ability to go to the market really quickly without any other club impeding your quest for a new coach. If I had to guess why they would have gone early, I think that’s the reason,” Roos told ABC Sport.