AFTER the departure of Brian Dooher and Feargal Logan, who will the next Tyrone manager be? Dooher and Logan did brilliantly to inspire their county to All-Ireland glory in 2021 but the Red Hand form line began to dip immediately afterwards.
A handful of experienced campaigners quit the panel before the 2022 season and there was a loss of discipline early in the League with four Tyrone players sent off against Armagh. Tyrone’s defence of their crown ended before the quarter-finals and form became increasingly inconsistent as heavy defeats became regular with 11-point losses to Derry (2022) and Kerry (2023) and a 21-point reverse against Dublin this year.
Tyrone clung onto their Division One status but never seriously threatened at Championship level, exiting in the quarter-finals for the last two seasons.
So change did seem to be coming and the Tyrone job retains its allure. Thanks to Dooher and Logan, the Red Hands remain a top flight team and the U20s have captured back-to-back All-Ireland titles under the management of Paul Devlin.
With lots of talent coming through, the list of candidates is lengthy and Andy Watters took a look at some of the contenders…
Malachy O’Rourke
IF he wants the job – and some say he does – could the Tyrone County Board look past the Fermanagh native?
Calm, pragmatic and tactically brilliant, O’Rourke has been linked with most managerial vacancies over the past few years and little wonder because he has a track record of success at club and county level.
He had guided Derry’s Loup and Tyrone’s Errigal Ciaran to senior championships before he moved into the county scene and inspired Fermanagh to within a whisker of their first ever Ulster title in 2008.
Subsequently took over at Monaghan and propelled the Farneymen to the Ulster title in his first season. Another followed and O’Rourke brought Monaghan to the brink of an All-Ireland final but lost to Tyrone in a game infamous for a Sean Cavanagh trip on Conor McManus.
Driven and determined, O’Rourke’s passion for success was evident when he’d choked back tears of disappointment earlier that season when Fermanagh had beaten his Monaghan team at the death of a tense Ulster semi-final.
He parted company with Monaghan the following year and took over the reins at Derry’s Watty Graham’s. Once again, success followed and the Maghera outfit won their first-ever senior championship in 2021 (the first of a hat-trick), then the Ulster club title in 2022 (retained in 2023) and the All-Ireland title in 2023.
Only the Sam Maguire has eluded O’Rourke and with the talent coming through in Tyrone, he and long-term collaborator Ryan Porter might regard the ultimate prize as attainable. O’Rourke is highly thought of by players and there were rumours that some Tyrone players are keen to see him appointed with the possibility of some retired players coming back on board.
Paddy Tally
CURRENTLY with Kerry but if Tyrone made an offer, could he refuse?
Tally is a former Tyrone player who has displayed a willingness to push himself out of his comfort zone and build a CV that is mighty impressive.
An All-Ireland finalist as a player in 1995, he was part of the coaching team in Tyrone’s breakthrough year of 2003 and also helped Down reach the All-Ireland decider in 2010. Following that, Tally managed St Mary’s University to the Sigerson Cup title and then went on manage Down. The five-time All-Ireland champions had fallen on very hard times at that stage but Tally brought time back to Division Two before he left at the end of a three-year term.
A sought after coach and meticulous planner, the Galbally native, who also had a spell as assistant-manager in Galway, was enticed to Kerry by Jack O’Connor and helped propel the Kingdom to the All-Ireland title in 2022.
It is understood that Tally is planning to be part of the Kingdom management next season but the lure of a return to his Red Hands roots would be very difficult for him to turn down.
Paul Devlin
IN some counties wouldn’t Devlin might be viewed as a shoo-in for this position. After all, since he took over as manager of the Tyrone U20 side, the Red Hand youngsters have captured three Ulster titles and the last two All-Ireland crowns.
His remarkable success over seven years has ushered a conveyor belt of young talent up to the senior ranks meaning that Devlin would be familiar with many of the players in the squad if he were to take the step up from underage level.
Ciaran Meenagh
A HIGHLY-rated coach and manager, the Loughmacrory native was pressed into service after Rory Gallagher stepped down as Derry boss in 2023 and was able to steady a floundering ship and guide the county to the Ulster title and the brink of the All-Ireland final.
It was expected that he would take the Derry reins permanently but Meenagh declined the opportunity and linked up with Conor Laverty at Down where he had a central role in helping to guide the Mournemen to promotion and the Tailteann Cup title.
Enda McGinley
YEARS of yeoman service in the Tyrone engine room earned the Errigal Ciaran clubman three All-Ireland medals and four Ulster titles.
He brought that deep reservoir of experience into management with Derry’s Swatragh before he moved into the inter-county scene with Antrim in 2020. His Saffron side was promoted from Division Four in 2021 but McGinley stepped down from the role in the wake of Antrim’s loss to Leitrim in the inaugural Tailteann Cup competition the following year.
McGinley took over as joint-manager of his native ‘Errigal’ last year and guided them to the Tyrone Championship final which they lost to Trillick after extra-time.
Ryan McMenamin
A POPULAR player with Tyrone over many fruitful seasons, Canada-born ‘Ricey’ joined the Fermanagh management after his retiring from playing and took on the bainisteoir bib in 2019. He spent two years in the Erne County dugout before switching across the border to Cavan in 2021.
Other contenders
Also in the frame are: Mickey Donnelly, who has added experience with Down to his resumé. County legend Stephen O’Neill who was part of the Cavan management team last year. Mark Harte, who had success with Pomeroy and is currently managing Armagh’s Madden. Vastly-experienced Peter Donnelly who has been part of Tyrone set-ups previously and has gained experience with Ireland Rugby. Revered former Red Hand defender Conor Gormley who is currently manager of Beragh and Joe McMahon who was part of the Logan-Dooher management team.
