Dublin county board chairman Seán Shanley says he was shocked to hear that Jim Gavin was stepping down as manager of the county's footballers.
Gavin's decision was made public on Saturday. He had spent seven years in charge of the capital's senior team, winning six All-Irelands.
"I still think the alarm clock is going to go and wake me up," Shanley told RTÉ Radio One's Sunday Sport.
"The cathaoirleach was shocked to tell you the truth.
"At about nine o'clock or half nine, I got a call from John Costello (Dublin GAA CEO), he was after getting a call and Jim wanted to talk to him. John met Jim and Jim told him he was 'handing over the reins' was the way he termed it.
"He simply said it was the right time to go, for Dublin; he felt it was the right time for him to go and leave it to someone else."
Shanley believes that Gavin might have stepped down last year had the target of five All-Irelands in a row not been the next destination on the map.
"About midday he met the players out in Innisfails and told them all the news," said Shanley.
I suppose you'd have to say the bad news. I have no doubt it was emotional and hard to take and a shock to all the players. It was out of the blue.
I met a couple of the players at an u21 match. He was like a father figure to them. I think he knew what was going on in lads' personal lives. He was able to relate to them if a lad was a bit off or a bit contrary. He knew if something was going on and treated them fair.
Shanley said he has not yet spoken to anybody about replacing Gavin. That is a process which will begin on Monday. Shanley also said that in his view it would be good for there to be continuity between the new management team and the old. Paul Clarke, Jason Sherlock and Declan Darcy were all prominent members of Gavin's backroom team.
"We would probably think that it would be somebody who has managerial experience, whether that be with minors or U21s," said Shanley.
"With that experience and keeping a link to that old regime, it probably would be the best way to go."
Shanley was also asked by RTÉ reporter Brian Carthy about the possibility of Dublin ladies football manager Mick Bohan or former Dublin manager Pat Gilroy taking up the job.
"Mick's after doing a great job with the ladies and this is his second term," said Shanley.
"To win three-in-a-row is terrific. Whether he'd be interested or not, I'm not sure. I was chatting to him - totally social - at the ladies awards and I just said, 'Would you have any interest in the future going back with the men?'
"He said no but what else would he say at the ladies function? He's probably going for five-in-a-row with the ladies before he'd consider anything else."
Regarding Gilroy, Shanley said:
I have no doubt someone will give him a phone call to see if he's interested.
Unfortunately, he took the hurling for a year and was looking like making good progress but had to step aside because of work commitments.
Maybe things have changed, things change very quickly in these high profile jobs. Maybe Pat would have the time now, I don't know. If he was interested, we would certainly talk to him.
"There's no formal way - there's no ad going into the Evening Herald," he added.
"We'll get word of who's interested. It only takes a phone call to confirm if they are interested. We'll take it from there."
Picture: Sportsfile
