Former Kerry stars Dara Ó Cinnéide and Jack O' Shea have called on Eamonn Fitzmaurice to stay on as manager of the Kingdom despite defeat to Dublin in yesterday's All-Ireland semi-final.
Dublin beat the Munster champions by 0-22 to 2-14 in a thriller at Croke Park, and in the aftermath, RTÉ analyst Pat Spillane told The Sunday Game that although Fitzmaurice had done a wonderful job in winning the 2014 title, he expected the Finuge man would now step down from his role.
However, O Cinneide, All-Ireland winning captain in 2004, hopes that Fitzmaurice will continue on, along with his team of Mikey Sheehy, Diarmuid Murphy, Liam Hassett and Padráig Corcoran.
"It would be an absolute shame if they were to walk away now," O Cinneide told RTÉ Sport. "They've done a fantastic job.
"This management group have maximised the talent that's there, managed, what was in 2012, looking like a very difficult period of transition.
"It's totally a decision for themselves but if they're ready and willing I think they should stay on. Four years is a long time and it's a huge commitment but I think it would be an opportunity lost.
"Also, they're the best that's out there, I don't think the alternatives are in place, and that might take a year or two."
O'Shea, who won Sam Maguire seven times, agreed, pointing to the three-in-a-row chasing minors as evidence of Kerry's potential to dislodge Dublin as Gaelic football's dominant force.
"Hopefully Eamonn will stay on," he said. "He has to take great credit for what he has done with this Kerry team. Okay, they haven't beaten Dublin but he's built a really good side.
"I'd hope for Kerry football that he'd stay on for another year or two because there are an awful lot of good minors coming from the last couple of years and this year and hopefully Kerry won't be too far off
the top."
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Kerry have now lost three consecutive Championship clashes to the Dubs under Fitzmaurice's stewardship - the 2013 and 2016 semi-finals and 2015 final - but O Cinnéide suggested that perspective was required when considering the quality of this Dublin outfit.
"They came up short against one of the greatest Dublin teams of all time. We have to be frank and honest about that," he said. "That's small consolation today but that's the reality of it.
"These were the games that Dublin used to lose. They've managed to turn it around. The culture was changed by Pat Gilroy and carried on by Jim Gavin, and they've become this fantastic team.
"But it won't last forever and Kerry will always come back.
"I'm not as disappointed as I would have been after Down beat us in 2010 or Donegal beat us in 2012.
"While the disappointment is acute, Kerry football is in a very strong place."
As for some of the veterans he played alongside, the An Ghaeltacht club man expects Aidan O'Mahony (36), Marc O Se (36) and Kieran Donaghy (33) to hang up their boots but thinks there might be another year in 33-year-old Colm 'Gooch' Cooper.
"It's natural," said O Cinnéide. "In football, you regret the things that you didn't do. These lads have done everything.
"It's entirely their decision but the body language after the game was there for all to see.
"Kieran Donaghy, Aidan O'Mahony and Marc O Se did linger that bit longer on the field, which they never do, and there was a bit more emotion than there normally is.
"There were sentimental moments that would point you in one direction to think that that's the decision they're going to make.
"I don't think the Gooch is given to any gestures like that. He's a very private individual even though he's a very flamboyant footballer.
"I think he has an awful lot to offer in a Kerry jersey in 2017 and he shouldn't make a decision based on the fact that he's 34 next year. I'm holding on to the hope that he'll have something to contribute."
"It takes a huge effort now to be a county player, they'll decide over the next few months," added O'Shea.
"I won't be calling for anyone to retire. These lads owe nothing to Kerry football.
"I know that last year's defeat was hard for them to take and I'm sure they'd love to go out in a winning way.
"Hopefully they might stay around for a while and those days will come back again."
