Derek McInnes's expected appointment of Allan McGregor as Rangers' new goalkeeping coach would continue a relationship that stretches back almost three decades.
Before they crossed paths as manager and player, the pair briefly shared a Rangers reserve dressing room in 1998.
McInnes was then on the fringes of the first team, while a 16-year-old McGregor was beginning to emerge as one of the club's brightest goalkeeping prospects, even making the bench that season under Dick Advocaat.
Their paths would diverge over the following years, but McInnes never lost his admiration for the former Scotland international.
That was evident in 2023 when, following McGregor's retirement from Rangers, McInnes attempted to persuade the club legend to extend his playing career.
Manager of Kilmarnock at the time, McInnes wanted McGregor to postpone retirement for one more season and join him at Rugby Park.
The move never materialised.
McGregor instead concluded that his body could no longer cope with the physical demands of professional football at the level he expected of himself, bringing an end to one of the most decorated careers by a goalkeeper in Scottish football.
Speaking on the Heart & Hand Podcast's Daily Update, David Edgar revealed the extent of McInnes' efforts to bring McGregor to Ayrshire.
According to Edgar, McInnes proposed a hybrid role that would have seen McGregor play semi-regularly while also acting as a mentor to Kilmarnock's younger players and goalkeepers.
The plan reflected McInnes' belief that McGregor's greatest value extended beyond his performances on the pitch.
Instead, Kilmarnock signed Will Dennis on loan from Bournemouth for that season.
Dennis impressed as McInnes guided the club to a fourth-place Premiership finish and qualification for European football.
McInnes' trust in former Rangers goalkeepers continued a year later when he signed Robby McCrorie, who had spent several seasons learning behind McGregor at Ibrox.
Those moves provide further context to Rangers' expected decision to appoint McGregor following Sal Bibbo's departure to Coventry City.
McInnes now appears set to turn to someone he has wanted to work alongside for several years.
McGregor also returned to Rangers in an interim coaching capacity under Barry Ferguson in 2023/24, giving the club an opportunity to assess his work away from playing.
Now, he is expected to take the role on a permanent basis.
Nearly 30 years after first sharing a Rangers reserve dressing room, McInnes and McGregor appear set to be reunited once again. This time with the task of helping restore success at Ibrox and working alongside new signing Ivor Pandur and Scotland international Liam Kelly.
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