Colin Sheridan: History should be kind to James Horan

DEPARTING: Mayo manager James Horan after his final game in charge. ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

Managerial resignations in the GAA are the strangest of things. There is no severance package. No farewell tour. No retiring of a jersey. They usually follow a defeat, and that defeat - regardless of previous success - usually follows a period of unrest or discomfort. Definitely an ennui of unease between the parting manager and his masters - the fans. Unease, defeat, reflection, resignation, eulogy. In that order. 

Few, if any, walk away on top. Jim Gavin was exceptional for many, many reasons, and the manner of his departure was one of them. He left it how he lived it. For almost everyone else, though, you leave wishing it could have ended differently. James Horan departs Mayo after two terms, and a legacy that can only be topped by a manager that actually goes and wins the bloody thing. Whoever does that, it should be pointed out, will likely have Knock airport named after them.