Football clubs often overestimate their own brilliance in the wake of premiership glory.
That's why repeat premierships are so difficult to win, and why they're so rightfully revered.
Collingwood fell into that trap itself. Maybe not to the same extent as the West Coast Eagles, whose drastic plummet into all-time low levels of irrelevance and feebleness continues, as plans for their 10-year premiership reunion are no doubt being drawn up.
It leaves the Magpies at a critical junction in their modern history. How needle movers at Olympic Park traverse the terrain of this tricky little post-window period will determine the decades to follow.
Here's a fool-proof list of eight steps Magpie power brokers should consider as they look to shore up the long-term competitiveness of their playing list, and health of their business.
1Plan for life after "Fly"
On that, almost every time the quintessentially modern Craig McRae has been pressed on his future, he has offered an answer as philosophical as it is bereft of comfort for those of a black and white persuasion.
"It's not forever," is his mantra. He doesn't see himself in the mould of a Chris Scott or a Craig Bellamy - he won't coach this side, or any other, for any longer than he wants to.
So be prepared.
Hands of Collingwood people understandably get sweaty when talks of succession plans arise, so I won't go that far, but could it hurt to have someone you view as a viable candidate do an apprenticeship under "Fly" while he's still engaged? Especially with highly-touted, incumbent assistant Hayden Skipworth viewed by many as a coach-in-waiting.
Smart football clubs, and smart businesses for that matter, have contingencies in place well before the rainy days arrive. Collingwood would be foolish, almost negligent in fact, to not be prepared for their enigmatic coach's sudden and unpredictable departure - that I predict will come sooner than most expect.
