Carmody had been catching up with friends when he saw Gibson running a lap of Lake Wendouree and then decided to make contact about a possible role with the Swans.

From there, things snowballed and Gibson is now committed to the 2021 Ballarat Football League season.

"I was having a coffee with (Ballarat player) Andrew Hooper at the Lake View Hotel and we saw Josh running past and he looked fit," Carmody recalled.

"So I followed it up, got his contacts and made contact with him. We communicated further with myself, Andrew and Karl Drever the president.

"It was just a really good fit for us, especially with such a young group and someone of his calibre. He's such a really good fella too so he will really fit in with our group."

Gibson retired from AFL football in 2017 but is set to pull on the boots for the Swans in 2021.

The now 36-year-old played 65 games for North Melbourne before joining Hawthorn, where he would play a further 160 matches. The defender won premierships in 2013, 2014 and 2015 as well as club best and fairest awards in both 2013 and 2015.

Carmody said Gibson, who has some ties to the region, had committed to two training runs a week and would work closely with the Swans' backline and leadership group while helping with training standards.

"He was really encouraged by the path that we are on. Obviously we have got a lot of young players and hopefully this fast-tracks their development with some on-field type leadership as well," Carmody told The Courier on Tuesday.

"You're always on the hunt when you are coaching or recruiting. It was just luck in the end."

Carmody took over the senior coaching job with the Swans ahead of the 2019 season and led the side to 10^th spot on the ladder after just three wins.

The entire 2020 Ballarat Football Netball League season was abandoned without a game being played due to COVID-19.