# List of Sydney Swans coaches

The following is a list of coaches who have coached the Sydney Swans at a game of Australian rules football in the Australian Football League (AFL), formally the VFL. They were known as South Melbourne prior to their relocation to Sydney in 1982.
Statistics current to the end of 2024.
| # | Coach | G | W | L | D | Win% | FG | FW | FL | FD | F Win% | GF | P | Years |
| 1 | Charlie Ricketts | 41 | 30 | 11 | 0 | 73.17 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 40.00 | 2 | 1 | 1909–1912 |
| 2 | Bill Thomas | 39 | 26 | 12 | 1 | 66.67 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1910–1911 |
| 3 | Harvey Kelly | 19 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 73.68 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1913 |
| 4 | Vic Belcher | 53 | 31 | 21 | 1 | 58.49 | | | | | | 1 | 0 | 1914–1917 |
| 5 | Henry Elms | 33 | 27 | 6 | 0 | 81.82 | | | | | | 1 | 1 | 1918–1919 |
| 6 | Herb Howson | 33 | 27 | 6 | 0 | 81.82 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.67 | 1 | 1 | 1918–1919 |
| 7 | Arthur Hiskins | 16 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 43.75 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1920 |
| 8 | Artie Wood | 16 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 31.25 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1921 |
| 9 | Roy Cazaly | 52 | 12 | 38 | 2 | 23.08 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1922–1938 |
| 10 | Charlie Pannam | 108 | 54 | 54 | 0 | 50.00 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 40.00 | 0 | 0 | 1923–1928 |
| 11 | Jim Caldwell | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 25.00 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1929 |
| 12 | Fred Fleiter | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 42.86 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1929 |
| 13 | Paddy Scanlan | 36 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 50.00 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1930–1931 |
| 14 | Johnny Leonard | 19 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 68.42 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 1932 |
| 15 | Jack Bisset | 80 | 63 | 17 | 0 | 78.75 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 60.00 | 4 | 1 | 1933–1936 |
| 16 | Brighton Diggins† | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1935 |
| 17 | Herbie Matthews | 90 | 27 | 62 | 1 | 30.00 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1939–1957 |
| 18 | Jack Baggott | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 38.89 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1940 |
| 19 | Joe Kelly | 68 | 35 | 33 | 0 | 51.47 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 | 0 | 0 | 1941–1944 |
| 20 | Bill Adams | 70 | 39 | 30 | 1 | 55.71 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 | 1 | 0 | 1945–1948 |
| 21 | Jack Hale | 28 | 9 | 19 | 0 | 32.14 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1948–1949 |
| 22 | Gordon Lane | 55 | 24 | 29 | 2 | 43.64 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1950–1952 |
| 23 | Laurie Nash | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 50.00 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1953 |
| 24 | Ron Clegg | 36 | 15 | 21 | 0 | 41.67 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1958–59 |
| 25 | Bill Faul | 36 | 12 | 24 | 0 | 33.33 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1960–1961 |
| 26 | Noel McMahen | 54 | 9 | 45 | 0 | 16.67 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1962–1964 |
| 27 | Bob Skilton | 35 | 16 | 19 | 0 | 45.71 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1965–1966 |
| 28 | Tommy Lahiff† | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1965 |
| 29 | Alan Miller | 38 | 11 | 25 | 2 | 28.95 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1967–1968 |
| 30 | Norm Smith | 87 | 26 | 61 | 0 | 29.89 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 1969–1972 |
| 31 | Graeme John | 66 | 15 | 50 | 1 | 22.73 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1973–1975 |
| 32 | Ian Stewart | 111 | 49 | 61 | 1 | 44.14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 1976–77 / 1979–1981 |
| 33 | Des Tuddenham | 22 | 9 | 13 | 0 | 40.91 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1978 |
| 34 | Ricky Quade | 57 | 25 | 32 | 0 | 43.86 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1982–1984 |
| 35 | Tony Franklin† | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1984 |
| 36 | Bob Hammond | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 37.50 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1984 |
| 37 | John Northey | 22 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 27.27 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1985 |
| 38 | Tom Hafey | 70 | 43 | 27 | 0 | 61.43 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 00.00 | 0 | 0 | 1986–1988 |
| 39 | Col Kinnear | 66 | 23 | 42 | 1 | 34.85 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1989–1991 |
| 40 | Gary Buckenara | 25 | 3 | 21 | 1 | 12.00 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1992–1993 |
| 41 | Brett Scott† | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.00 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1993 |
| 42 | Ron Barassi | 59 | 13 | 46 | 0 | 22.03 | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 1993-1995 |
| 43 | Rodney Eade | 152 | 81 | 69 | 2 | 53.29 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 37.50 | 1 | 0 | 1996–2002 |
| 44 | Paul Roos | 202 | 116 | 84 | 2 | 57.43 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 56.25 | 2 | 1 | 2002–2010 |
| 45 | John Longmire | 333 | 208 | 122 | 3 | 62.91 | 28 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 50.00 | 5 | 1 | 2011–2024 |
| 46 | Dean Cox | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | 0 | 0 | 2025– |
| source |||||||||||||||
Key:
| # | Number of coaches | Number of coaches | Number of coaches |
| G | Total games coached | FG | Finals games coached |
| W | Total wins | FW | Finals wins |
| L | Total losses | FL | Finals losses |
| D | Total draws | FD | Finals draws |
| Win% | Overall winning percentage | F Win% | Finals winning percentage |
| GF | Grand Final appearances: number of AFL Grand Final appearances achieved by the coach | Grand Final appearances: number of AFL Grand Final appearances achieved by the coach | Grand Final appearances: number of AFL Grand Final appearances achieved by the coach |
| P | Premierships: number of premierships achieved by the coach | Premierships: number of premierships achieved by the coach | Premierships: number of premierships achieved by the coach |
| † | Caretaker coach | Caretaker coach | Caretaker coach |