As they seek to confirm a replacement for Eamon Fitzmaurice, the Kerry county board are reportedly looking beyond the possibility of putting Peter Keane or Jack O'Connor in charge of the county's senior footballers. In a surprising development, Maurice Fitzgerald is now being touted as the likely candidate to lead Kerry into 2019.
Managing Kerry's minor and U20 teams respectively, it had been assumed that the decision would fall in the favour of Keane or O'Connor.
However, reports from within the county suggest that Fitzgerald has already been presented as a potential replacement to the four-man committee charged with putting a new manager in place.
Furthermore, it is said that the former Mayo coach Donie Buckley and a former Kerry teammate Stephen Stack would join as a part of Fitzgerald's prospective backroom team.
Twice an All-Ireland winner as a player, Fitzgerald was awarded the Footballer of the Year award in light of the county's 1997 success.
Working under Fitzmaurice as a selector for the last two years, Maurice Fitzgerald has previously led St Mary's Cahersiveen to an All-Ireland intermediate title.
Although there remains some speculation as to whether the committee in question will vouch for Fitzgerald, Keane or O'Connor, the late arrival of Fitzgerald's candidacy certainly shakes up what had previously appeared to be a two-man race.
