Player power could sway Jack O'Connor to stay
O'Connor won his fifth All-Ireland title in Sunday's devastating victory over Donegal, in his third term managing the county's senior team.
He was re-appointed to the role for a third time in late 2021 on a four-year arrangement, and that concluded with the stunning victory of two days ago. Jack O'Connor celebrates the final whistle with Cian O' Connor. Pic: Inpho
It leaves O'Connor third in the list of All-Ireland-winning managers, behind Mick O'Dwyer on eight and Jim Gavin on six.
The opportunity to match Gavin's record could tempt O'Connor, but more persuasive could be the enthusiasm of his players, a young and hugely talented group, the core of whom O'Connor has managed at a minor level, too.
'At the start of the year, Jack was edging that way,' Patrick O'Sullivan, the chair of the Kerry board, said in comments reported by The Examiner, 'but winning yesterday and with the backing of the players, I think Jack will stay on for another year. Kerry manager Jack O'Connor. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
'That's a discussion we will have over the next couple of weeks. What is best for Kerry will happen. Jack is an honourable man and it's a discussion for us.'
The eagerness of Kingdom chiefs to retain O'Connor is understandable, given his enormous experience and how deftly he managed the aftermath of a shock defeat to Meath in the All-Ireland group series.
The young age of the squad is a further encouragement to maintain the current arrangement, with Cian O'Neill (above) joining as coach to replace Paddy Tally for this season.
It seems clear that, if O'Connor wishes to stay on, he will have the backing of officials and the players, and one of the comments O'Connor made in the aftermath of Sunday's win showed how influential that cohort could be.
'I went on record earlier in the year that it would probably be my last hurrah,' he said. 'I don't want to be telling you lads (the press) before I tell anyone else. There are more important people down the corridor.'
While he suggested in January that this would be his final season, that position had softened by the time he was interviewed by RTÉ on Sunday, and he will be under pressure to commit for at least one more season.
That would give Kerry certainty at a time when some rival counties have vacancies. That's the case in Dublin and Mayo, with the expected appointments of Ger Brennan and Andy Moran, respectively. Declan Darcy is also in the mix for the former.
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