Jim Gavin's decision to step down as Dublin was completely "out of the blue" according to county board chairman Sean Shanley.
Just three months after their historic five-in-a-row victory, Gavin resigned from his position as Dublin manager on Saturday.
It all feels like a dream to Shanley, who was told the news by chief executive John Costello.
"I still think the alarm clock is going to go and wake me up," Shanley told RTE.
"At about nine o'clock or half nine, I got a call from John Costello, he was after getting a call and Jim wanted to talk to him. John met Jim and Jim told him he was 'handing over the reins' was the way he termed it.
"He simply said it was the right time to go, for Dublin. He felt it was the right time for him to go and leave it to someone else.
"About midday he met the players out in Innisfails and told them all the news. I suppose you'd have to say the bad news. I have no doubt it was emotional and hard to take and a shock to all the players. It was out of the blue"
