JOHN LONGMIRE'S succession to the Sydney Swans' coaching throne after Paul Roos' departure back in 2010 was as seamless as it gets in the AFL.

Out went one premiership winner in Roos, and in came Longmire, who quickly proved an inspired choice by coaching the club to another flag in just his second year at the helm.

It continued a steady stream of successful moves by the club that were largely facilitated by one man – Swans chairman Richard Colless.

Colless now finds himself in a unique situation, needing to determine his own successor after the AFL's longest serving chairman announced this week he would be stepping down in February.

Longmire is thankful that's not one of his tasks, although he is extremely confident the club's board will identify the right replacement.

But the current coach does have his own thoughts on where Colless sits in the recent history of the proud club.

"I've got no input into that," Longmire said when asked about a possible new chairman.

"I make sure I know my spot at the football club and try to stay out of those issues.

"But I think what needs to be said, and Richard would be quite embarrassed by this, but in terms of not just the Sydney Swans but in AFL football in NSW, there have been two pretty significant figures.

"One is Tony Lockett and I'd suggest the other one would be Richard Colless.

"There are many other contributors in the game, but the two that spring to mind that have had a magnificent impact on the game in NSW would have to be those two.

"To be chairman of an AFL club in the toughest market in the country and to do it for 20 years, to come in at a time when the club was really struggling, to contribute the way he [Colless] has, has been sensational.

"He's still active and still making decisions and I have more than enough confidence that the board will find a fantastic replacement.

"But Richard's contribution at this club and to football in this state has been enormous."






Richard Collless with the 2012 premiership cup. Photo: AFL Media

Lockett's recruitment ahead of the 1995 season was perhaps the most important of the countless number of successful decisions made by Colless.

Coming at a time when the Swans were cemented to the bottom of the ladder, it was still a bold decision to sign a player that until that point was a hated figure in the harbour city.

The previous season, the former St Kilda full forward had been vilified in Sydney for breaking Peter Caven's cheekbone in a game at the SCG, leading to an eight-week suspension.

But all was quickly forgiven as Lockett experienced an incredible transformation, becoming one of the most popular and best-loved figures in the club's long history.

In 1996 the Swans marched all the way to the Grand Final, sparking a run of 14 finals appearances in the ensuing 17 seasons.

It's a far cry from where the club was situated when Colless arrived in 1993.

Between 1992 and 1994, the Swans had a combined record of eight wins, 55 losses, one draw and three wooden spoons.

There was talk of mergers, relocation and even outright extinction.

Instead, Colless – along with the AFL, Ron Barassi and a new ownership group – gradually turned the situation around to the point where, two decades on, the Swans are one of the competition's great success stories.

It is not an exaggeration to suggest that without Colless, the Swans may not exist today.

"I've spoken to a lot of people that were around at that particular time and it was really tough," Longmire said.

"It could've gone either way, the future of the Sydney Swans, the future of AFL footy I guess in this state.

"I don't think that's putting too big a line under it.

"To be able to come in and make some decisions; there's no doubt Lockett was a big decision and really helped AFL football and put it on the map up here at that time in history.

"Richard's ability to be able to manage that period of time and go through the last 20 years and continue to have the enthusiasm and passion and drive in this football club has been just magnificent."

Undoubtedly, Colless will leave behind enormous shoes to fill.

But it would be unwise to bet against him helping to make the right decision one last time in terms of his replacement.

Roos and Paul Kelly have already been immortalised in bronze statues at the SCG.

They may well have some company after Colless stands down in February next year.

James Dampney is a reporter for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_JD