JASON Sherlock could top Monaghan’s wish-list following the surprise decision by Vinny Corey to step down as manager on Monday night.
Corey took over at the end of 2022 following a process where Sherlock had been the front-runner before withdrawing after he had been interviewed for the job.
That left a vacancy that Corey eventually felt obliged to step up and fill out a sense of duty to the county.
He brought no shortage of quality to the role and took Monaghan to an All-Ireland semi-final in his first year, where they headed into the final ten minutes level with Dublin before the eventual champions pulled away.
The second year was a struggle as they were besieged by an injury crisis and with a need to blood new players, they were relegated from Division One, ending a ten-year stay, before exiting the championship at the last 12.
It had been widely expected that Corey would stay on for a third year and was present at a number of the weekend’s opening round of club championship games.
The county board were informed of his decision before a meeting on Monday and made an official announcement shortly after midnight.
Corey had been involved with the Monaghan team for 22 years straight, having gone straight from an 18-year playing career into Seamus McEnaney’s backroom team for two seasons before taking charge himself for another two.
Sherlock will be at the head of the list of candidates after being involved in another surprise decision over the weekend as Dessie Dolan announced he was stepping down in Westmeath.
The former Dublin forward had been Dolan’s coach during the two years in which they had qualified for the Sam Maguire and held their own despite being thrown into the group of death with Armagh and Galway both years, as well as Derry this year.
It was understood that he was close to taking over two years ago. Speaking before Corey was appointed, Sherlock said that “it wasn’t working out for me” and he had chosen to withdraw, instead joining forces with Dolan.
There would be a huge grá still for Malachy O’Rourke in the county, naturally given that he guided them to two Ulster titles and within a whisker of an All-Ireland final during a brilliant seven-year spell.
They are likely to approach him with a view to a return but it feels unlikely that O’Rourke, currently with All-Ireland club champions Glen and eternally linked to the Derry job, would see going back to Monaghan as the right move for him.
David McCague, whose Scotstown team were beaten by Glen in last year’s Ulster final, is another viable contender but the prospect of his club commitments running deep into the year allied to Monaghan’s desire to move quickly on finding Corey’s replacement mean that it’s unlikely he will take over.
McCague worked under Seamus McEnaney with Monaghan minors and seniors between 2018 and 2022, alongside Corey for two of those years.
Mark Doran, who coached Clare and Down previously and is currently with Slaughtneil, and Inniskeen boss John McEntee could also be considered, as could Seamus McEnaney for another stint, but all are viewed as outside chances.