Seven defeats from seven meant Monaghan could have few complaints about their relegation to Division 2 of the Allianz Football League earlier this year.
The Farney men, who are no strangers to bouncing back from relegation, have once again proved that they are a different beast come championship.
After taking care of Dermot McCabe's Cavan in their opening provincial assignment, they conjured up late moments of magic to see off Derry in extra-time. That fighting spirit was evident when they rallied against Armagh in the decider, before Kieran McGeeney's side powered for Ulster glory in additional time.
They enter Sunday’s clash with Mayo in Round One of the All-Ireland Football Championship (live on RTÉ2) with far more optimism that many would have predicted after a troubling spring.
Back in February, the Green and Red posted 2-30 in Clones as they comfortably beat their hosts. The Round 4 fixture is best remembered for the scintillating display of Kobe McDonald, whose 1-04 lit up St Tiernach’s Park.
It was a game of extra significance for Mayo manager Andy Moran, plotting against the side he coached for two seasons after being asked in by Gabriel Bannigan.
"I’ll be honest, I found it really tough," he said after the league victory. "Knowing all the (Monaghan) lads, I kind of deliberately didn’t look down at their warm-up for a long period, just to make sure I was focussed on my own gig."
With his focus on the forwards, there was a real emphasis on shooting from outside the arc. In last year's Ulster defeat to Donegal, four players chipped in with two-pointers, and Moran’s initial public dealings as Mayo bainisteoir acknowledged it was an area he was keen to target having witnessed shortcomings in kicking from range.
The league suggested an improvement on that front, but the championship body of work remains a small sample size.
Having swept to a Division 2 title last year and some eye-catching football in reaching the last eight of the championship, Bannigan would have preferred for Moran to continue his coaching career in Ulster, but knew the pull of Mayo would be too strong if, and when, it came.
If Moran found the league reunion a tricky task, Sunday promises to be a step up again.
Another man going back to his old stomping ground later today is Dermot McCabe.
The Gowna man had been part of Cavan Ulster-winning teams both as a player (1997) and as a member of Mickey Graham’s backroom team in 2020.
While Westmeath fans may have felt shortchanged that he left his two-year term halfway through, one of his first moves following his appointment in October 2024 was to bring current manager Mark McHugh into the set-up.
His sole year in charge was one of near misses. The Lake County dropped to Division 3 after some narrow reversals, and in one instance a controversial defeat to Meath, subsequently falling at the quarter-final stage to Wicklow in the Tailteann Cup. Their Leinster campaign ended with a two-point defeat to Kildare.
McCabe, Cavan’s Head of Games, was one of only two nominees to succeed Raymond Galligan when the Cavan hotseat became available. When Finbar O'Reilly pulled out of the interview process, it paved the way for McCabe to take over.
McCabe has said that, like Moran, the pull of his native county was enough to change his course, admitting that 2025 was a year of "transition" for Westmeath.
McHugh has pushed the squad to scarcely believable heights, and will relish pitting his wits against the man that brought him into the county set-up.
McCabe, whose departure was more hasty than Moran’s, will feel that getting one over the Leinster champions on their home patch would give his side an enormous boost, though league and championship evidence points to a home win in Cusack Park to maintain Westmeath’s upward trajectory.
It may not be last-chance saloon for the Breffni men, but their season is in danger of petering out badly unless there is an upswing in performance. Similar to how he played the game, the 50-year-old will be bullish in upsetting the odds.
Before the season began, McCabe was asked if he felt the Breffni men were dismissed as a weaker county.
"I wouldn't like anyone looking down on Cavan as a GAA county," he told The Anglo Celt. "I wouldn't like anyone looking down to think that we are inferior or an inferior team."
An away win would kick-start his term in charge, while his Mayo counterpart Moran could also do with a spark following their dismantling at the hands of Roscommon last time out.
Familiar faces lie in store for both returning managers.
Watch Mayo v Monaghan in the All-Ireland Football Championship first round on Sunday from 3.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow our live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and RTÉ News app and listen to Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
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