It's just over a year since Michael Murphy played his last game for Donegal. A defeat to Armagh in the All-Ireland qualifiers brought the curtain down on an inter-county career that spanned 16 seasons.
Murphy waited before announcing his county retirement and in the statement that followed, he said: "I still love Gaelic football and I still love Donegal". That was November 2022.
In July 2023, speaking at a media event ahead of Sunday's Electric Ireland GAA All-Ireland minor football final between Derry and Monaghan, the Glenswilly clubman again reiterated his passion for the game.
"I love Gaelic football, I just love the game and no mater where I am I don't think that love will ever stop. I love the place where I'm from so combining the two was great".
Murphy was there watching on as Donegal faced Down and Tyrone in this year's championship. Yes, there were a few pangs of regret, but not enough to make him reconsider the decision made last autumn.
"You would love to be out there but that is tempered by the fact that I know what's involved to get you there. When I wasn't doing that in October, November, December, January, February, March and April, as much as it would have been lovely to throw yourself out there to do that, I was always lucky to have been able to do it for all of those years.
"You'd love to be out there, like anybody would. Anybody from Donegal would say they'd love to be out there playing, but I know what goes into it.
"I was lucky to put in what was needed for it, but I knew this year I wasn't able to do. In a roundabout way, small bits of missing, but I always knew it couldn't be done."
Not only did Murphy get to see his native county from over the fence, he now can observe other county sides through his work as a pundit with BBC Northern Ireland and GAAGO.
It has given him the chance to see games live, something that wasn't the case of late.
"I found in the last number of years as a player that I stopped watching the game. The demands were so great, along with the amount of training.
"I'd become so engrossed with playing, looking at our own game in Donegal and looking at the opposition we were playing next. I've probably watched more games this year if I was to combine may last three years [as a player] with Donegal.
"I've enjoyed looking at games, looking at it differently. As a player I had looked at games with my head and my feet in a dressing room. I was coming away from matches and people were saying that was terrible, but I was coming away intrigued by the battle of it.
"Now I look at it and say is it really exciting and attractive now? That transition did take a while; it was a good bit into the year when I started asking those questions."
Questions indeed that a coach would ask. Murphy has already taken small steps towards management through the Sigerson Cup and minor involvement with his club.
There is a vacancy to be filled with the Donegal seniors. A turbulent campaign ended with Aidan O'Rourke, who agreed to take up the role following Paddy Carr's departure in March, stepping down as interim manager following Donegal's loss to Tyrone.
With Croke Park and the Ulster Council highlighting 14 high-risk findings into how GAA affairs are carried out in the county and Karl Lacey's departure as head of the academy, there was much unwanted press around Donegal's fortunes this year.
The closing date for applications for senior manager closes on 21 July.
Murphy won't be throwing his hat in the ring for now, preferring to learn a bit more about the management game.
"I'll do everything in my power to learn as much about Gaelic and to do the right thing stepping-stone wise, to see whether there is an opportunity in the future. There's not a chance, I wouldn't be the right person for the job, the right candidate.
"I would need to go and figure things out and get more experience around that level. I’ve been a player in and around that level but that doesn’t mean all of a sudden you become a good manager. Other than the Sigerson Cup with the local college team and club minors in recent years, that's my experience of coaching and management so far. I need to go away, give that time and qualify myself and get the necessary experience there - good, bad and indifferent.
"To see, do you enjoy it? Am I any good at it? Does timing allow in the future?
"But I do believe that if someone really, really wants the role there is still enough there for them to take it"
"When I was in my twenties I was always saying to myself that I'd love to give it a crack."
The 2012 All-Ireland winning captain also believes the Donegal job still holds an attraction, despite the off-the-field concerns.
"It's a tricky one right now. With everything that’s going on in the background, is it ideal? It’s probably not ideal. But I do believe that if someone really, really wants the role there is still enough there for them to take it. Most of the interaction, or certainly 80 to 90% of it for a manager, is still with the players.
"Yes there will be dialogue that will need to be had with the county board. But for the right person, or the people that really, really want it, I don't think that won’t deter them in the slightest from throwing their name into the ring.
"The deadline has been set. That's a positive insofar as we take learnings from last year in terms of it dragging on quite late. I don't think that helped things. But at the same time it’s crucial we get the right person.
"And I do believe there is enough hunger there within the county, players that have roles in other counties, that may now want to align with the senior job."
