Sydney premiership coach John Longmire is said to have ruled himself out of contention for any coaching vacancy next year as former Collingwood mentor Nathan Buckley reportedly emerges as the \u201chot favourite\u201d for Melbourne\u2019s top role. <\/p>\n
Longmire, who coached the Swans from 2011 to 2024 including leading the club to the ultimate glory in 2012, was considered the top candidate for the Demons<\/a>, who last week dismissed 2021 flag coach Simon Goodwin. <\/p>\n But respected Fox Footy commentator Gerard Whateley confirmed on SEN\u2019s Crunch Time that Longmire wouldn\u2019t put his hand up for any coaching position in 2026. <\/p>\n FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cJohn Longmire will not make a return to coaching in 2026. The Sydney premiership coach has decided it is simply too soon to contemplate a return to the coaching ranks, having been out of the job basically for only eight months,\u201d Whateley told the program<\/a> on Saturday morning. <\/p>\n \u201cSubsequent to his segment on AFL 360 on Wednesday night, Longmire embarked on a little introspection, knowing that he would be the subject of this question until he reached an answer in his own mind, and understanding that there would likely be an inquiry at some point from Melbourne, he wanted to have made a decision in his own mind rather than stringing anyone along \u2014 and that decision is not to coach, for the time being. <\/p>\n \u201cHe spoke on AFL 360 of the family time that he\u2019s enjoying out of the cauldron of coaching, and I wouldn\u2019t underestimate how much he\u2019s enjoying the corporate work; how stimulating he\u2019s finding the executive role in Sydney. <\/p>\n \u201cSo, on the coaching landscape, you can rule John Longmire out; he won\u2019t be coaching in 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n Longmire, who is currently working as an executive director of club performance at Sydney, told Fox Footy on Wednesday he hadn\u2019t thought about the prospect of getting back into coaching. <\/p>\n \u201cI hope you understand I\u2019m not being cagey about this, I just haven\u2019t allowed myself to think about it, because I\u2019ve had other thoughts going on and other things in my life that I\u2019ve tried to be present with,\u201d he said on AFL 360. <\/p>\n \u201cI hope you understand I haven\u2019t had the time to fully formulate what that may or may not look like, and at the moment, I\u2019m loving what I\u2019m doing, and I\u2019m staying present in that. Now, if that changes, well, I need to have a think about it at some point, maybe. But at the moment, it hasn\u2019t changed.\u201d<\/p>\n But while Longmire won\u2019t enter the running for to be the Dees\u2019 next senior coach, former Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley reportedly has \u2018genuine interest\u2019 in the role. <\/p>\n