Humphrey Kelleher has become the first managerial casualty of the championship season as the Dublin County Board last night announced that he was no longer the county's hurling boss.
The board said in a statement: "We would like to thank Humphrey for his time, dedication and enthusiasm he brought to the position during a very difficult time for Dublin hurling.
"But we have been forced into taking this action to arrest the slide in the team's fortunes and to, hopefully, protect our status among the tier one counties who are participating for the Liam McCarthy Cup."
Dublin were sent straight into the qualifiers following their recent 4-14 to 0-14 defeat by Laois in the Leinster SHC quarter-final.
Kelleher also came in for criticism during a disastrous league campaign that saw Dublin relegated after the team failed to register a single win. Several players also decided to opt out of the panel during the year.
The statement added: "An interim management team will be appointed prior to a resumption of squad training next week."