Stephen Rochford will not lead the Mayo footballers for a fourth successive season after leaving his role on Monday evening.
The 39 year old took up his post in December 2015 and was given a two-year extension in the aftermath of Mayo's loss to Dublin last year.
Rochford has led Mayo to two All-Ireland finals only to lose by the narrowest of margins - on both occasions - to Dublin in 2016 and 2017.
BREAKING | "I am resigning my position as Mayo manager"
Stephen Rochford is stepping down as Mayo manager, releasing a statement explaining his decision.
Tune into #OTB at 7pm for more, starting with the Newsround! #mayogaa pic.twitter.com/E5srTEPIgm
— Off The Ball (@offtheball) August 27, 2018
A disappointing 2018 campaign saw them knocked out of the Connacht Championship by bitter rivals Galway at the quarter-final stage before being eliminated by Kildare in the infamous 'Newbridge or Nowhere' match in Round 3 of the qualifiers.
Donie Buckley, Peter Burke and Tony McEntee left Rochford's backroom team earlier this summer and it was reported by The Mayo News at the weekend that Peter Ford and Shane Conway were due to join the set-up for 2019.
Following an executive meeting of Mayo GAA this evening the officers of the board were authorized to meet Stephen Rochford & his management team on their structures & plans for 2019. #mayogaa #gaa
— Mayo GAA (@MayoGAA) August 26, 2018
However, Rochford has taken the decision to step away from the Senior inter-county football team despite having recently confirmed he would stay on for at least another season.
He joined OTBAM ahead of this season's qualifiers and spoke about the difficulty of leading he county, telling Ger: "You try to remove yourself from it as much as possible but Mayo's a small enough county. My job with AIB means I'm in the public eye a bit - you hear a bit, you get a couple of letters sent to the house to offer that sort of 'insight' but it is what it is. Life is tough.
Stephen Rochford has stepped down as manager of the Mayo Senior Football team. We thank him for all his work over the past three years. #mayogaa #gaa https://t.co/EHpfh2o1DV
— Mayo GAA (@MayoGAA) August 27, 2018
"I was talking earlier about playing Cork in my first game back in the national league back in 2016 and we got a real tanking below in Pairc Uí Rinn and as much as you think you're ready for this - that step up is massive."
With his departure now confirmed - how will his legacy at the helm of Mayo football be remembered?
