Jim’s record will never be broken. He took Dubs to new level PAULCAFFREY

GAVIN CALLS TIME

Coming into December and with a team holiday a few weeks away, we all thought it’s done and dusted, that he’s staying on. I’m not privy to the exact time-frame but there’s no doubt that Jim thought long and hard before making his decision. The word was that his righthand man Declan Darcy was stepping down. It would have meant Jim having to refresh the management team.

He was very tight with Declan, who had soldiered with him since day one.

Striking up that relationship with a new number two would have weighed heavily on Jim’s mind.

He was also putting his job at the Airport Authority on hold to an extent. Managing Dublin took up at least 40 hours of his life every week.

A lot of people mightn’t realise that Jim has been involved in management in Dublin since 2003, when he was training the under-21s to win their first All-ireland.

He’s had his hand on the tiller ever since.

That’s a long time to be prioritising Dublin football over his employment, family life and more. Maybe when we weighed it all up there was no better time to go than after making five-in-a-row history.

His successor will be an insider. Outside names, like Jim Mcguinness, won’t be up for discussion.

The county board will put their usual process in place. They’ll look for applications from the clubs, that will happen quite quickly, and a successor announced within a week or two.

Dessie Farrell (left) is the number one candidate.

He has a very similar background to Jim – he soldiered with the minors and 21s and stayed heavily involved in the club scene with Na Fianna.

He had only committed this week to staying on with Na Fianna for next year, so even he would have been surprised by the announcement.

But the goalposts have changed now and Dessie has a ready-made team in place. The likes of Mick Galvin and Nipper Mcnally worked with him previously.

Is there unfinished business for Pat Gilroy? Pat appears to have huge work commitments and maybe would feel it would be very hard to go back.

I can’t see beyond Dessie as the top candidate.

The word was that his right-hand man Declan Darcy was stepping down..he was very tight with Declan