The Kerry crown would fit perfectly on Maurice Fitzgerald’s head
And talk that board will pair him with Buckley is massive
‘SOMEONE OF MAURICE’S STATURE CAN STILL TURN A FEW HEADS’
IT IS still some way from being official, but it is revealing just how much the rumour that Maurice Fitzgerald is the front-runner to become the new Kerry senior manager has gained traction.
Loose talk in this county is best ignored because we are a tribe that, as the advert goes, likes to put the chat into tea. Often it is either sourced out of thin air or a deep well of roguery.
But when word broke that Maurice Fitzgerald has edged ahead of his fellow South Kerry men Peter Keane and Jack O’Connor in the race to be Eamon Fitzmaurice’s successor, the news was greeted with a lot of nodding heads.
In a way, that is no surprise because even though we might play ball in the land of plenty, someone of Maurice’s stature retains the capacity to turn heads.
But here’s the thing, it is not Maurice’s name, impressive and all that it is, which suggests that this may indeed be a done deal. It is the claim that Donie Buckley is on his ticket that led to the market closing its book on the vacancy.
The rumour of his addition rings true to the long-held belief that Donie would not just be the next Kerry coach, but that he would also be the kingmaker in determining the next manager.
That is down to a couple of reasons – the most obvious is that Kerry’s need for a top-end football coach has never been greater and Donie ticks that box perfectly.
In particular, Kerry’s lack of defensive shape and incompetence in the tackle were failings which effectively sank them this year, and those are areas where Donie specialises. I have written here before that in the brief time I was involved with him, he was the best coach, football-wise, that I ever worked with.
While he is primarily recognised for his tackling drills, his skill-set goes far wider and deeper than that. He is a proverbial sponge of information. He has never stopped educating or investing in himself as a coach.
He covers all aspects of the games, and his video analysis sessions are an eye-opener. In fact, he once purchased a software package at his own expense to ensure that he is right at the cutting edge
There simply had to be room for his face in any new management line-up and now it looks almost certain that will come to pass.
But he also has to be given the space to make the kind of individual and group-performance gains needed for this Kerry group to have any chance of challenging Dublin.
The likelihood is that Maurice is the kind of manager who will allow Donie the scope and the authority to coach Kerry which perhaps he did not have in his previous brief stint under Jack O’Connor.
That is not a criticism, but the need now for Donie to have a larger and more defined role is greater now than when there was a settled and developed team in place in the noughties.
That is why – and I urge caution as this is still only a fantasy management team until there is official white smoke next week – this has a the feel of a set-up engineered by the board.
There are plusses and minuses to that approach. It contrasts with how Mayo have gone about their business since the departure of Stephen Rochford, a process that has been quiet, open and transparent since the close of nominations. Mick Solan and James Horan went head-to-head after both parties declared their interest and Horan was the sole runner after as Solan dropped out.
In Kerry, it has been all cloak and dagger. Hardly a word has squeezed out until this week, but the control on the process has its downside. The sense is that the board want to dictate the composition of any incoming management team.
That is understood to be impacting on Peter Keane, who may well have a strong sense of loyalty to the management team he worked with at minor level, the same team that has delivered Kerry three AllIreland minor titles in a row.
That is conjecture of course, but if it is Maurice who slips into the hot seat, with the experienced Stephen Stack by his side as a selector, then Kerry should be in good hands.
I don’t have too many regrets from my time with Kerry but one is that as I was coming into the team, Maurice was leaving, and when he came into the Kerry management, I had just gone out through the door.
I do know that he was very popular with the group over the past couple of seasons as a selector. He did some very good work with the Kerry forwards, which may well have assisted the likes of Sean O’Shea and David Clifford make the step-up over the past 12 months.
Éamonn Fitzmaurice invited him in to speak to us the week before the 2015 All-Ireland final and I remember being blown away by his absolute passion for Kerry.
I suppose I has this mental picture, dictated by the fact that his style of play was so languid and laidback, that he would be a quietspoken gentle soul, but there is a fire burning inside him.
Then again, as Darragh often told me, Maurice was one of the most savage competitors on the pitch, but it was just that he was such a beautiful player that people did not notice that side to his game.
If he is to be the chosen one, then Kerry know they have a leader but we also realise that we can’t hang everything on one man.
Last year’s failings must be analysed and accounted for. For instance, it is absolutely essential that Kerry tie down a strength and conditioning coach whose first and only commitment is to Kerry. Last year, we shared Joe O’Connor with the Limerick hurlers.
Most importantly, this has got to be a team, one that works.
And if the word on the street is true, we have the makings of a good one.