DEAN Laidley's tenure as Kangaroos coach was under intensifying pressure last night as one of the towering figures of the club called for him to be replaced.

Wayne Carey, the captain of the club's team of the century, last night made the stunning demand that Laidley be replaced at season's end by the pair's former premiership teammate John Longmire.

Carey did not call for Laidley to be sacked, saying he should complete the final year of his contract, but he believes the Roos should replace him at year's end with Longmire — seemingly irrespective of how the Kangaroos go this year under Laidley.

"Nothing against Dean but I think it is time we get John Longmire back to the club … as senior coach," Carey said on 3AW.

"There are huge raps on him in Sydney, he has been under one of the best coaches in the league … I think it is about time we got John Longmire back as senior coach, and if that means Dean Laidley is an assistant under John Longmire, then so be it. I think it would be a great mix.

"We are assuming that more than likely it (a vacancy) will arise at the end of the year and I think they have to chase John Longmire and chase him hard, and you watch the Kangaroos supporters jump back on when one of their favourite sons like Longers comes back to coach this great club."

Longmire is highly regarded among assistant coaches aspiring for a senior position. He narrowly missed out on the St Kilda senior coaching position late last year when then fellow Sydney assistant coach Ross Lyon was appointed despite Longmire having been the early favourite for the job.

Carey was exiled from the club for years after having an affair with the wife of teammate and vice-captain Anthony Stevens.

He said with Graham Duff as chairman, Adam Simpson as captain and Laidley as coach, the Kangaroos lacked a strong character and presence as the face of the struggling club. He said Longmire would be a saleable character to front the organisation.

Laidley, who was also a premiership teammate of Carey's in 1996, is in his fifth year as coach of the Kangaroos and the final year of his contract.

When Laidley replaced Denis Pagan, he confronted a football budget that had had about $1 million sliced from it and had to try to piece together the debris of Carey's departure from the club.

He has been known to have long been frustrated at managing the smallest football operations department in the league and would have been shattered at Carey's call.