Kilkenny on learning from Belichick & Dublin's potential

The sun shone brightly overhead on what would be the last day in the blue of Dublin for Ciarán Kilkenny.

Perhaps it was fitting the old rivals Kerry provided the opposition. The page, when it did turn on the final chapter, had marked down a win for the Kingdom. That was over three weeks ago. An All-Ireland semi-final not without controversy, with a few contentious calls going the way of the green and gold.

Still, Kilkenny, though, has few regrets as to how the denouement unfolded. After all it was a glorious career, with eight All-Ireland medals in his pocket.

Throughout his career, Kilkenny has made no secret of his love for American sports and the Castleknock native is ambassador for the upcoming Aer Lingus College Football Classic at the Aviva Stadium on 29 August. At a media event ahead of the game between Texas Christian University's Horned Frogs and University of North Carolina’s Tar Heels, the now former Dubs star always had it in his mind that 2026 would be his last season wearing the blue.

"I had kind of made the decision with my family at the start of the season that this would be my last year playing for Dublin," he said.

"There came a lot of emotion with each game and especially where it got to the stage of knockout games, where each match could potentially be my last game playing for Dublin.

"I was trying to soak in everything as much as possible: the preparation and the lead-in to the games, along with the moments on the bus with my team-mates heading into the stadium. The fact that each of those games was potentially my last I wanted to give as best as I could - in that it could be potentially my last time ever putting a blue jersey on."

Aside from the outcome, Kilkenny, who also boasts 12 Leinster wins and six All-Stars, spoke fondly on what was his last day out as a Dublin senior footballer.

"There is nothing like Dublin v Kerry in Croke Park and the parade beforehand was an unbelievable spectacle," he remarked.

"I thought we performed well. But the best team won on the day if I'm being honest. You will always be looking back on games and analysing games. If our conversion rate was a little bit better, we did create a lot of opportunities but didn't execute the way we would have liked to. I gave it my all and everybody else on the team gave it their all.

"It's very exciting when thinking about what is to come from this Dublin team. We got a lot of momentum towards the end of the season, picking up wins against Cavan, Donegal and Galway, put in some good performances. The management team integrated a lot of new players. The future looks good so I'll be excited to support them."

So what's next for the 33-year-old? Will he move into coaching? Well, time spent with the University of North Carolina's revered coach Bill Belichick (below) may be just the inspiration to go down that path. The pair met last year at Carolina's training facility in Chapel Hill, with Kilkenny impressed with how the man who holds the record for the most Super Bowl wins as coach applies himself across many facets.

"I couldn't get over his work ethic," the initial thoughts on the 74-year-old.

"He is there in the early morning and would not leave until late in the evening. He is live on every single play, moving around to the different groups. He believes strongly in preparation and preparing his teams for different scenarios, for every single scenario you would have to say. You can't but admire his enthusiasm and energy he has as a coach.

"To meet a coach who has achieved so much like Bill Belichick and to be provided the opportunity to talk to him for 10 mins was a bit surreal. He is in year two now with UNC and I definitely think the group will have improved. They will be prepared by the time they visit the Aviva and Bill will have taken our weather into account."

As for Kilkenny on the sideline himself, overseeing operations with county teams, "it's definitely something to think about", he revealed.

"I've done a bit of coaching in college and with football teams in the school. Whether it's this year or the next I don't know, and whether it's coaching or managing I don't know. They are two completely different things but they often compliment each other, but I would like to be involved. I'll have to see what opportunities are out there and what best suits my skillset. I'm keen to learn.

"I remember the 2017 All-Ireland where I was man-marked by Lee Keegan, who did an exceptional job on me. That gave me great learning and growth as a player. Management is also about taking things on board and applying them."

2027 will dawn with Kilkenny no longer involved as a player but he nevertheless foresees Dublin kicking on from the momentum which carried them farther than what many people expected in the campaign just gone.

"All the ingredients are there within the group. If we had executed a bit better on the day we would have been in a great position to get over the line against Kerry. When we perform well we are capable of beating anyone. The team has great potential and they should be aspiring to win All-Irelands. We will look to compete well in Division 2 next year and in Leinster and All-Ireland series thereafter."

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