Mickey Harte's curious Derry exit leaves Oak Leaf with vital decision to make
Having come so close to making last year's All-Ireland SFC final, this current generation needs the right manager appointment to fulfil that potential after a lost summer
Mickey Harte's Derry departure was as abrupt as the announcement that he was leaving Louth for the Oak Leafers last September.
In December, Harte insisted that he and his selector Gavin Devlin had completed their three years guiding the Wee County and were therefore free to move on.
"The Derry position became available," said the 72-year-old. "It was a kind of an opportunity that you wouldn’t pass by.
READ MORE: Rory Gallagher is bookies favourite to replace Mickey Harte as Derry manager
READ MORE: Joe Brolly calls on Derry County Board to "bring an end to the agony"
"Nobody can guarantee anything, But the main thing we know we can do is we can add value - and if we add value to what they’re about, then I think they’re going to be that much more serious contenders.”
Louth GAA chair Peter Fitzpatrick, who believed he had agreed with Harte a two-year extension, announced that his now former manager was heading back to Ulster to win one more All-Ireland.
Yet Harte is now gone from the Derry post - less than seven months into this latest three-year deal. Few imagined that they would end up in Derry, given the fierce nature of their local rivalry with neighbours Tyrone - Harte's own county, the one he drove on to three All-Irelands.
If the move caused bemusement outside of Derry, inside the county there was disbelief in some quarters that Harte was on board. Joe Brolly, for one, didn't hide his contempt for the move.
But suddenly here he was, succeeding Ciaran Meenagh in the hot-seat, keen to build on a superb summer that saw Derry become back to back Ulster champions and then put it up to Kerry before just falling short in an epic All-Ireland semi-final.
Under Harte, Derry coasted to McKenna Cup success and then cruised through the National League, beating a host of top sides before that magnificent final victory over Dublin.
Expectations rocketed and yet a feeling of unease remained within Derry. It all fell apart when the serious stuff started in Ulster.
Donegal exploited Derry's naivety in defence. In the group stages, they lost to Galway and Armagh and ill-discipline became a problem.
They limped into the All-Ireland quarter-finals amidst rumours of dressing-room unrest and speculation that Harte was heading for the exit door. Kerry were waiting at Croke Park and Derry had nothing to offer - a pale shadow of the side that lit up their last four meeting 12 months earlier.
"I do not believe Mickey will do the decent thing, I don't think it's in his nature," said Brolly in the aftermath. "The Derry board have to step in now and do the right thing because it's been agony. That's really what it's been, absolute agony.
"What about our boys out there in the most important years of their career, and their careers are being flushed down the toilet by a fella who hasn't a clue about how to play in the modern game, whose almost every decision has been catastrophic and has seen the team serially humiliated."
In typical Brolly style, he tweeted 'Was it something I said?' after yesterday's announcement that Harte's reign was already at an end. Derry were moving on.
“I would like to thank the players for the huge commitment they gave to the Derry jersey during the 2024 season," said Harte in a statement released by the county board.
“I would also like to thank Gavin and the entire backroom team for their hard work, dedication and expertise.
“Thanks too for the support of the county board and all those generous sponsors of the GAA in Derry. Finally, I wish the players every success in the years ahead.”
Despite the earlier rumours, Oisin McConville was among those who were caught out by the move. "I didn't see it coming," said the former Armagh ace and current Wicklow boss. "Having gone to those lengths to appoint him, unless there's massive pressure from the players or from the inside, but I didn't see this happening at all."
Rory Gallagher is the bookies favourite to return to the hot-seat after he stepped down ahead of last year's Ulster final.
A successful appeal to the DRA after he was “temporarily debarred” from the GAA until an investigation into domestic abuse allegations by his estranged wife Nicola had been concluded means he is available to take over the reins again. Gallagher has always denied the allegations made against him.
McConville feels that Glen maestro Malachy O'Rourke, who turned down the post last year, should be approached again.
There's no shortage of options for the Derry board but, as Brolly alluded to, the next choice must be the right one to provide this generation of Oak Leaf players with the best chance of winning an All-Ireland.
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