Kerry's loss to Tyrone in the All-Ireland semi-final came as a shock to most, meaning the inquest into the defeat has already begun in the Munster county.
This is the second year on the spin that this side have lost to what would be considered less talented opposition, although it is fair to say this year's Tyrone team are a far better outfit than the Cork one that stopped Kerry coming out of Munster last winter.
Peter Keane's position will now be under heavy scrutiny. While they pushed Dublin all the way in the All-Ireland final during his first season in charge, they have yet to return to such heights in the intervening couple of years.
Considering the talent he has at his disposal, failing to come close to winning a Sam Maguire will not be viewed kindly in The Kingdom. However, should the players also accept a large part of the blame for the Saturday's result?
Speaking on this week's GAA Embedded, former Kerry star Darran O'Sullivan said that while Keane and his management team made a few mistakes in the Tyrone game, the players played just as big of a role in the outcome.
It can't always be the manager's fault. Now I do think the management got it wrong. They got some of their changes wrong, personnel wrong.
But the players themselves got it wrong. Some of them didn't work hard enough in certain periods of the game. They left fellas go, it was highlighted on The Sunday Game.
They showed periods where Kerry let runners go. You never saw a Tyrone lad let a Kerry player go, if anything they went with two fellas.
Tyrone sensed the danger. Once Kerry got into a certain area, the danger was flagged and you could see Tyrone lads running with everything they had to put a hand on him, be in their eye-line, get in the way.
Kerry didn't have that. They didn't sense the danger or were too preoccupied with minding their own house.
Keane was handed a three-year term in charge of the county, meaning he will have to be reappointed if he is to take the team for another season.
Who are the possible alternatives? Eamon Fitzmaurice is an obvious choice, although whether he would welcome a second stint in charge is uncertain. Some have also been calling for Tomás Ó Sé to be considered for the role, although the RTÉ pundit lacks top level management experience.
Darran O'Sullivan believes there is no obvious candidate to replace Keane if Kerry do decide to move on.
He got three years. I'm not sure, maybe he might look for another year. Whether he will get it, I think they have underperformed.
I just don't see who is the ready made replacement at the moment. Whoever gets it, of the names you're hearing, they would be a bit of a punt.
My thing with the Kerry management is that it's about a management team. You're not going to get one perfect manager, but if a man gets the job and surrounds himself with the right people, I think thye could do very well.
It's about a team in general. You could name out any manager and go 'he will or won't do well', but there's so much more to it.
If you're a manager of a team now, you are managing. You're not the best coach in the world, or strength and conditioning, you're getting the best people available to you around you. Then you're managing them and the team.
It will be an interesting one. There will be names going around for a while, I'm not sure what Peter [Keane's] plans are.
It's 2014 since Kerry's last All-Ireland. It is becoming a famine, so they need to make the most of it.
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SEE ALSO: The Reaction To Kerry's Defeat Shows The Problem With GAA Punditry
