Is the standard of inter-county football management the lowest it’s been in a long time? Like I think it was a lot stronger a decade ago or so when you had Jim Gavin, Jim McGuinness and Rory Gallagher, James Horan, Eamon Fitzmaurice, Conor Counihan and Malachy O’Rourke knocking around.
I was thinking there who are the best managers in inter-county football right now and the pickings look slim enough.
Rory Gallagher probably would have been top of the list but he’s gone now.
Podrick Joyce and Davy Burke look about the best of what’s out there. Jack O’Connor on longevity but Kerry don’t seem to be going great right now. Mickey Harte is still right up there.
Kevin McStay has done well up to now but the jury is still out, though he does have a good assistant in Stephen Rochford.
Dessie Farrell and Brian Dooher/Fergal Logan have won All-Irelands as managers but are under clouds, as is Kieran McGeeney.
Glenn Ryan’s tenure with Kildare looks to be petering out, John Cleary is trucking along with Cork without making any great impression either way. Colm O’Rourke’s tenure with Meath has been a bit of a disaster.
You’d probably say Colm Collins and Mickey Graham are in the higher reaches based on historic achievement with meagre resources. Vinny Corey has done surprisingly well in his first year. I don’t even know who’s over Donegal currently.
I’ve a feeling Conor Laverty could be the coming force. He’s one of the very few out there you’d think might have the ability to improve a team significantly in the way Jim McGuinness and James Horan did with Donegal and Mayo from 2011 on.