Former Sydney coach John Longmire remains uncertain about his coaching future amid the belief he’s the top Melbourne candidate following Simon Goodwin’s dismissal.
Ex-Eagles mentor Adam Simpson, also quizzed on a potential inclination to return to the AFL coaching landscape, was similarly noncommittal.
Premiership magnet-mover Goodwin was let go by the Dees on Tuesday, and it’s since been reported by foxfooty.com.au’s Will Faulkner that Longmire is atop the Demons’ wishlist, with the 54-year-old’s pedigree and long run of success in the Harbour City making him the preferred choice for the role.
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But Longmire, who is currently working as an executive director of club performance at the Swans, was coy when pressed more than once on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 on the idea of taking part in another coach-hiring process.
“As I sit here right now, I’ve got two thoughts. One is I feel for ‘Goody’ (Goodwin) — this only happened yesterday. When you’ve been a coach, you’ve got great empathy for other coaches in those situations that Simon’s found himself in. So, first and foremost, great empathy for him,” Longmire began on Wednesday night.
“The second thought I’ve got is, I can’t be 100 per cent definitive on what the future holds. And I’m not trying to dodge the question … what I can be definitive about is I’ve really enjoyed this year.
“I’ve enjoyed the fact that I’ve actually spent more time on myself, I’ve spent more time working on another part of the business that I’ve been incredibly stimulated by, but I’ve also spent more time with my family.
“I haven’t had the need to think about anything other than that, and I’m still in that position as we speak today.”
Longmire owns a 63 per cent win rate as a coach, having led the Swans to the 2012 premiership and five grand final appearances.
The veteran mentor relinquished his position as Sydney coach following the club’s 60-point grand final defeat at the hands of Brisbane late last year.
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Longmire was probed by host and respected commentator Gerard Whateley if he’d contemplated whether he’d be open to coaching again at some stage.
“I haven’t thought about it, Gerard — I hope you understand I’m not being cagey about this, I just haven’t allowed myself to think about it, because I’ve had other thoughts going on and other things in my life that I’ve tried to be present with,” he told Fox Footy.
“I spent so many years thinking about what I needed to do, the next step, the footy club — and I’ve just tried to be a bit more present this year in what I’m actually doing with my family in particular.
“I hope you understand I haven’t had the time to fully formulate what that may or may not look like, and at the moment, I’m loving what I’m doing, and I’m 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’t changed.”
Asked by former Demons captain Garry Lyon asked if he’d consider an approach from the Demons, Longmire said: “Well, it hasn’t happened yet, Gaz, and when it comes my way, I guess I’ll contemplate what I do then, and I hope you respect that approach as well.”
Meanwhile, 2018 premiership coach and Fox Footy analyst Simpson explained the complex situation he and Longmire find themselves in.
“It’s really difficult; you think it’s a simple answer, it’s not,” Simpson began.
“To block out any type of thought of contemplating getting back into coaching. You just refuse to think about it, because you’re dealing with what you’re doing now — like, I want to be good at this, I want to be good at business, I want to be good at some of the consultant stuff, I want to be a good parent. You’re living in the moment.
“So, to think about, 24 hours after someone’s lost their job, it actually hasn’t been in our minds. And I’m not speaking on behalf of ‘Horse’, but we’ve had a couple of conversations about this — it’s not as simple as you think.”
Simpson compared his situation as a recently departed mentor to those such as Western Bulldogs assistant Daniel Pratt, who itch for their first senior coaching chance.
“Daniel Pratt, I think he’s probably ready for a coaching job,” Simpson said. “He’s 10 years in the system, coached in the WAFL, coached the women’s (team), all that sort of stuff.
“So, he’s done, like I did, the preparation, the list analysis, who would I bring with me, what’s the board like, what’s the culture like, are we aligned … and you’ve done all that work, and you’re going ‘just please ring me and ask me, I’m ready’ — whereas we’re not in that space.”
Simpson concluded: “Until you really start thinking about it, which we both haven’t … it’s not unfair, but taking the phone call is like, that doesn’t mean anything.
“Once and if it happens, then you go ‘well, what’s really going on here?’ So, I suppose that’s starting to come into my mind, but it’s this much compared to what it would be for someone who’s desperate and ready to go.
“So, it’s a little bit early to go ‘take a phone call or not’ — it’s not as black and white as you think.”
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