Live

OTB Gold

01:00 PM-02:00 PM

OTB Gold
Advertisement
Football

Who will replace Jim Gavin for the Dubs?

After the shock of Jim Gavin's resignation as the senior football coach subsides, the Sunday Pape...



Football

Who will replace Jim Gavin for the Dubs?

After the shock of Jim Gavin's resignation as the senior football coach subsides, the Sunday Paper Review on Off The Ball turned to who should replace him.

Head of the list appears to be Dessie Farrell whose credentials are obvious, as well as striking similarities to Jim Gavin in being a success in the 1995 Dubs side also.

He managed the minors to an All-Ireland win in 2012, and took over from Gavin as under-21s - winning two All-Irelands in 2014 and 2017.

His record with Na Fianna puts him at a significant advantage, given the makeup of the current Dublin panel, and Tommy Martin and Conor McKeon discussed the potential recruits - McKeon believing that "it is [Farrell's] turn".

Who will take the place of Gavin?

"They have been very lucky in Dublin, in that I think they will view themselves as having three very highly capable men in charge of the teams. Pat Gilroy, Jim Gavin and Dessie.

"What Dessie has is not just experience managing. That group of players that are now back-boning that Dublin team - Jack McCaffrey, Ciaran Kilkenny, Paul Mannion, John Small and Brian Fenton - Dessie was managing their development squads. He was in charge of them when they were thirteen, fourteen and fifteen years old.

"I know that Jason Sherlock has been part of the management team, and is very ambitious. A lot of the forward coaching in their throwing game comes from Jason, and he would be a decent coach.

"But there probably is a sense in Dublin GAA that it is Dessie's job."

Thoughts are still with the job that Gavin did in delivering the five-in-a-row for the Dubs, and the humility that he showed in doing so.

"In previous years, he didn't think that it was the right thing to do to put himself out there; to be very visible because for him the gig was always about winning the fifth one," commented McKeon.

"I think for him to have gone again, it wouldn't have simply been a case of him taking another year. It would have been a new project."

Who takes forward this project remains to be seen, but it would appear that this is Dessie Farrell's job to lose.

Subscribe to Off The Ball's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.


Read more about

Dublin GAA Dubs Dubs GAA Jim Gavin