Africa reigning champions the Côte d'Ivoire were one of the biggest disappointments of the 2017 Nations Cup in Gabon as they crashed out of the tournament in the group stage.
Coach Michel Dussuyer paid for their group-stage failure with his job, but the nation's decision to appoint ex-Belgium boss Marc Wilmots as his successor doesn't bode well for the Elephants' immediate future as they look to reassert themselves as the continent's finest side.
Dussuyer, who oversaw draws with Togo and Democratic Republic of Congo and the defeat by Morocco in Oyem, lasted just over 18 months after being named as Herve Renard's successor in July 2015. The charismatic Renard was the man who masterminded the Elephants' Afcon success in 2015, as the last remnants of the nation's underachieving Golden Generation finally achieved the continental triumph that their collective talent deserved.
He was always going to be a hard act to follow, and while Dussuyer deserves some credit for managing the tricky transition away from the likes of the Toure brothers and Siaka Tiene and introducing a new crop of players including Jean Seri, Jonathan Kodjia and Franck Kessie, his results were unconvincing.
Admittedly, he had to do without the injured Gervinho for the Afcon in Gabon, but while he was boosted by Wilfried Zaha's decision to opt for the Elephants rather than England, his team lacked cohesion, hunger and the kind of identity they were beginning to develop under Renard.
As fate would have it, Dussuyer's Elephants were drawn against their former master at the Afcon, coming up short in a 1-0 defeat as Renard's Morocco advanced at the reigning champions' expense.
On that occasion, the difference between the Afcon 2015-winning coach and his successor couldn't be starker. While Renard raged at referees, encouraged his team from the dugout and set the tone for an organised, accomplished Morocco display with his sharp and directed touchline shouts, Dussuyer slumped on the bench, crouched in the technical area and shrugged bleakly when another of his team's attacking moves broke down.
Ditching Seri during the opener against Togo and then to belatedly turn to him against the north Africans smacked of indecision, while the ease with which Dussuyer was outsmarted by Renard raised questions about whether the Frenchman - whose greatest achievement in the continent came in two Afcon quarter-final appearances with Guinea - had the high-end quality required to be the Elephants coach.
Similar questions were levelled at Wilmots during his tenure with Belgium - his second managerial post after Sint-Truiden - when his influence and authority were questioned, his tactical thinking appeared muddled, and he so often failed to get the best out of a collection of talents who were the envy of world football.
When Belgium beat the Republic of Ireland 3-0 during the Euros, Belgian sources claimed afterwards that the players had won in spite of their coach, by taking command of the contest themselves and deciding their own approach. By the time he left his post, he was little more than a puppet figure, having struggled to capitalise on such a gilt-edged opportunity for success.
You fear the same thing is destined to happen all over again with the Elephants. They're a team who have become accustomed to underachievement (excluding Renard's brief exhilarating tenure) despite their quality and, in this sense, Wilmots looks unlikely to change the status quo.
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Indeed, in appointing a stylish European ex-international with limited managerial experience and no coaching success, the Ivorians are walking on worryingly familiar ground, with Wilmots' arrival prompting memories of Frenchman Sabri Lamouchi and his underwhelming tenure.
The Belgian should be an improvement on Dussuyer - although that isn't saying much - yet don't expect the Elephants to re-realise their collective potential any time soon, while qualification for next year's World Cup from CAF qualifying Group C remains uncertain.