Former prominent managers happy to take a back seat on the coaching merry-go-round

In mid-September last year, on the night of his first public pronouncements as Mayo manager, Kevin McStay sat behind a veneered table in a room at MacHale Park with his wingmen by his side.

Damien Mulligan was to his right, while a man who himself had been Mayo’s pilot for three years flanked McStay’s left shoulder. Only for Stephen Rochford the appeal was no longer in being top gun, he was okay with a seat at the managerial top table.

After his Mayo tenure ended, he had taken on a coaching role with Declan Bonner’s Donegal. But when Bonner moved on, McStay moved in. Mayo called and Rochford answered.

“I’ve been on a learning journey as such in Donegal, I had plenty to learn up there and the Ulster Championship is enlightening in terms of what it brings. And I’d like to think I’ll bring some of that back to the group as well,” said Rochford at the time.

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“And I’m looking forward to pivoting the role from being not as deeply involved in the coaching when I was here last, to now being in deep.”

The practice of intercounty managers moving backstage has become more prevalent in recent seasons. The development of coaching in the game has, by its very nature, added more horses to the merry-go-round that previously only had managers saddling up for the ride.

The various pieces that now make up intercounty set-ups tend to be transient, sought-after experts in S&C, nutrition, sports psychology etc regularly move between teams.

And it is common for former intercounty managers to take on roles now as coaches, selectors or assistant managers.

On Monday night, former Down senior football manager James McCartan was confirmed as part of Ger Brennan’s Louth backroom team, then on Tuesday Ciarán Meenagh was named in Conor Laverty’s Down set-up.

Meenagh suddenly turning up in Down didn’t go unnoticed elsewhere in Ulster. He had proved a steady hand on the tiller in Derry during what was a tumultuous summer.

In his role as interim manager Meenagh, who had been a selector under Rory Gallagher, guided Derry to an Ulster final win and they produced a highly competitive performance in an All-Ireland semi-final loss to Kerry. It was widely believed Meenagh would take charge on a more permanent basis for 2024.

However, when it emerged he would not be seeking the position as he instead wished to concentrate on managing his native Loughmacrory and his teaching career in St Colm’s High School in Draperstown, a line of dominoes stretching from Derry to Darver began to tumble.

And, while Loughmacrory’s championship aspirations ended in a penalty shootout defeat just over a fortnight ago, Meenagh’s appointment in Down was still unexpected. Laverty’s prudence appears to have delivered a real coup for the Mourne County, who had lost the services of Jim McGuinness.

The Down boss has not only added a hugely experienced coach to his backroom team, but he has acquired the man who actually managed the 2023 Ulster champions.

The draw for Meenagh would seem to be an opportunity to remain front and centre on the training pitch rather than spearheading a management team.

At a glance, there are over a dozen former senior intercounty managers operating in the background with county teams. Jack O’Connor has two ex-bosses in his Kerry brains trust – Mike Quirke, who managed Laois, and Paddy Tally, who managed Down.

Some of the managers-turned-coaches include Rochford and Donie Buckley in Mayo, Meenagh in Down, McCartan (Louth), Tally (Kerry), Quirke (Kerry), Cian O’Neill (Galway), Kevin Walsh (Cork), Anthony Rainbow (Kildare), Mickey Graham (Leitrim), Pat Gilroy (Dublin), John Brudair (Limerick), Ciaran Deely (Wexford), Seán Boylan (Meath), Eamonn Murray (Cavan).

Prior to the 2022 All-Ireland final, Quirke was asked about the differences in the roles.

“You go from being the bus driver to being the bus rider,” he said.

As management teams continue to evolve, speciality coaching roles are mushrooming – Cavan have a life coach in Catherina McKiernan while Louth have listed David Whyte as a transitional coach.

The increased demands and spotlight on the intercounty game might be a deterrent for some potential managerial candidates who instead opt to pursue a passion for coaching, content to be merely a cog in a management team rather than the head figure.

Others approach such positions as opportunities, exposure to a new environment of learning and potentially creating a pathway back to a managerial role.

Then for some it’s merely answering a slightly different question with the same answer, should your county call.

“He’s just such an entirely positive influence for young people that I thought it would be very foolish to have a resource like that available to me and not use him,” said Colm O’Rourke of Boylan’s involvement with Meath.

Truth is, all managers look for an edge.

Dessie Farrell’s invitation for Gilroy to join the Dublin management team this year displayed an admirable lack of ego. But it also came with a dollop of big-picture reasoning.

“Pat is a smart man and he has a vast amount of experience in terms of managing teams, managing players,” said Farrell prior to the All-Ireland final. “I thought getting him in in the background would help.”

It certainly didn’t hurt.