Sydney Swans assistant coach Dean Cox has shut down recent reports suggesting he'll be part of a succession plan to take over the reins from John Longmire in the future.
Amid reported interest from West Coast at a time when the Eagles were said to be weighing up a call on their own senior coach, Adam Simpson, Cox's name was removed from the list of potential Eagles candidates as murmurs suggested the West Coast premiership ruckman was set to succeed Longmire at the end of 2025.
Longmire recently recommitted to Sydney until the end of that season, with Cox, who has served as Longmire's assistant since the end of 2017, flagged to lead the New South Wales side at the cessation of the Swans coach's newly-signed contract.
Reports from out west last month suggested plans were in place for Cox to take on the senior coaching duties in a matter of years, with Longmire to move out of the role that has seen the Swans win a premiership and feature in a further three grand finals.
When quizzed on the reported plans to take over from Longmire, the six-time All-Australian was quick to deny any report of the sort, touching on the comfort of his current role and the standing Longmire has with the current playing group.
"I've got no idea. It was news to me," Cox laughed when speaking on RSN on Tuesday.
"I'll just keep doing what I'm doing. I'm enjoying that at the moment, learning as much as I can from a very good football organisation.
"... The best part about Horse (Longmire) is his ability to see the game and understand the trends, but also the relationships he has with the players.
"He's the first person (the players) speak to when they come off the ground."
The Swans will commence their 10th finals campaign under Longmire's watch, with an elimination final against Carlton to kick off their September series on Friday night at the MCG.
The Blues are arguably the form team of the competition following a nine-game winning streak prior to the end of the home and away season. The Swans, too, piled on the wins at the back end of the year to book themselves a top-eight berth, winning six on the trot prior to Round 24.
The turnaround saw Sydney lift out of the bottom four and into the final frame, with last year's grand finalists overcoming a significant injury toll to return to premiership contention.
Speaking on his club's flag pursuit, Cox said the Swans must find greater consistency in their performances to have any chance of surviving the post-season.
"Player availability was a big one for us. Nine weeks ago we were sitting in the bottom four and then we were able to get some players back and play some consistent footy to build that chemistry we had toward the back end of last year," Cox said.
"What we've been able to do is put ourselves in really strong positions for long periods of time in those games. We haven't been consistent enough for long enough and that's probably one thing we wanted to speak about.
"When you're coming into a final campaign you wanna make sure you're playing the four quarters."
Friday's encounter is expected to take place under testing conditions, with heavy rain forecasted for the opening week of finals in Melbourne.
While the Swans have placed some attention on how they'll look to line up under the conditions, there will be shared planning in how they can negate the Blues' contested game and star forwards.
"We've briefly touched on the team and looked at it, you always look at some of the conditions," Cox said.
"They've got a really dangerous (midfield). They're the No.1 contested ball team, so that's a really big factor in finals in general, but also against Carlton.
"We've got to be able to match that, and then they've got some key forwards that can put on a really high score. So whether we do the matchups with that or just focus on the role that we need to play (will be considered)."
Without show-stopper Lance Franklin in September for the first time since he arrived in 2014, the Swans will be looking to have other individuals rise to the occasion that is finals football.
While Cox and Longmire would like to see the entire team lift in line with the high-pressure levels over the coming weeks, the former noted the likes of Errol Gulden, Chad Warner, and Isaac Heeney could be difference makers in their premiership prospects.
"You want to do it collectively as a team, but individuals certainly have to stand up during this period of time," Cox said.
"We've got some really dangerous players. Isaac Heeney is one that can take the game by the scruff of the neck, Chad Warner showed in a really disappointing grand final that he could generate some ball and hit the scoreboard. Errol Gulden has been doing it for all of the year, he's unbelievable.
"We need some of those players to really stamp themselves on the competition, hopefully a couple of them can do it."
The Swans will meet with Carlton at the MCG on Friday night at 7:50pm (AEST).