Exactly one month earlier than last year, all nine Ulster counties have confirmed their football management teams for the forthcoming season.
In 2021, Down’s protracted search to find a replacement for Paddy Tally ended when they appointed James McCartan to the role for a second term on November 24.
On Monday night, Donegal became the last Ulster side to announce their management set-up for 2023 with Paddy Carr succeeding Declan Bonner with former Armagh All Star and Louth boss Aidan O’Rourke joining him as head coach.
Read more: Crossmaglen ace Cian McConville warns there’s more to come from Armagh champions
With the new inter-county season fast approaching with January's Dr McKenna Cup, we take a look at the managerial state of play across the province.
Antrim - Andy McEntee
For the third time in four years, Antrim will be starting a season with a new manager at the helm after appointing Andy McEntee earlier in the summer.
The former Meath boss was a somewhat surprising choice to succeed Enda McGinley, who stepped down after two years in the role.
The Tyrone man guided the Saffrons from Division Four and Antrim comfortably retained their Division Three status in the Spring.
However, defeats to Cavan in the Ulster Championship and Leitrim in the Tailteann Cup prompted McGinley to quit.
McEntee had called time on his reign with Meath after their Qualifier loss to Clare and he has recently appointed Terry McCrudden Snr of Lámh Dhearg and former Armagh trainer John McCloskey to his backroom team.
Armagh - Kieran McGeeney
Armagh clearly feel they have unfinished business from 2022, so it was no surprise that Kieran McGeeney was handed a one-year extension back in August.
That makes ‘Geezer’ the second-longest serving manager on the inter-county circuit behind Clare boss Colm Collins.
McGeeney’s backroom team will remain largely unchanged with Kieran Donaghy and Ciaran McKeever back onboard for another term. Reports linking Donaghy to the vacant Roscommon post were swiftly rubbished by the former Kerry ace.
The Orchard Men will be buoyed by Galway’s impressive showing in defeat to Kerry in the All-Ireland final in July following their penalty shoot-out defeat to the Tribesmen at the quarter-final stage.
An Ulster title has eluded Armagh during McGeeney’s reign, but the provincial draw should offer hope that they should at least make the final in 2023 with the likes of Derry, Tyrone and Monaghan on the other side of the draw.
Cavan - Mickey Graham
He said he was going to ponder his future after the Tailteann Cup final loss to Westmeath and ponder it he did.
Cavan fans must have wondered if Mickey Graham was going to return to the helm for 2023, but the county board gave their manager a resounding vote of confidence by offering him a new two-year term.
The Breffnimen won the Ulster title in 2020 and were promoted from Division Four as champions before reaching the final of the inaugural Tailteann Cup in the summer.
The Championship draw could have been kinder to Cavan, though, as they’ll face the winners of Armagh and Antrim in the quarter-final.
With the new Championship format in place for 2023, Cavan would need to reach the Ulster final to avoid playing in the Tailteann Cup again next season as the draw in Connacht means that winning Division Three might not be enough to qualify a team for the Sam Maguire based on their final League position.
Derry - Rory Gallagher
Derry ended a 24-year wait for an Ulster title in a memorable 2022 campaign that saw them topple 2021 All-Ireland champions Tyrone before defeating two more Division One teams, Monaghan and Donegal to lift the Anglo Celt Cup.
They then reached the last four of the All-Ireland SFC with a comfortable victory over Clare, but fell to Galway in the semi-final following a disappointing display in Croke Park.
That game marked the end of Rory Gallagher’s three-year term with the Oak Leafers, but there was never any suggestion that the Fermanagh man wouldn’t be given a new deal.
Indeed, Derry officials backed Gallagher with a fresh three-year term earlier this month.
Gallagher’s side will take on his native county in the Ulster Championship, but they’ll be hopeful of mounting a serious challenge for promotion from Division Two in the early part of the 2023 campaign.
With Dublin and Kildare dropping down from the top flight, Derry will be anxious to learn if they are at home or away to the Leinster sides when the League fixtures are confirmed in the coming weeks.
Donegal - Paddy Carr
Declan Bonner’s decision to step down in July after a disappointing Championship campaign for Donegal didn’t come as a surprise.
However, few would have envisaged such a drawn-out saga to find his replacement over the last few months.
Jim McGuinness, Malachy O’Rourke, Martin McHugh and, most recently, Rory Kavanagh were all strongly linked with the position.
Indeed, prior to St Eunan’s facing Glenties in the Donegal SFC final, it was believed that Kavanagh’s appointment was a foregone conclusion. Yet, the St Eunan’s boss withdrew from the race to succeed Bonner following Letterkenny’s defeat.
A little over one week later, Donegal confirmed Paddy Carr as their new manager with Armagh’s Aidan O’Rourke coming on board as head coach.
Carr led Kilmacud Crokes to the All-Ireland Club SFC title in 2009 while O’Rourke, who is the head of sport at Queen’s University Belfast, has managed Louth and worked with Kieran McGeeney as coach of Armagh and Kildare.
Down - Conor Laverty
Keen to learn from their mistakes of last season, the Down executive moved swiftly to find a replacement when James McCartan stepped down following a difficult 2022 season for the Mourne County.
After only coming in last November, McCartan was always playing catch up and Down were relegated from Division Two in the spring.
Their Championship exit to Monaghan and a Tailteann Cup defeat to Cavan marked the end of a forgettable season in which McCartan also had to deal with several high-profile departures from his squad.
After being linked with the role himself at the end of 2021, Conor Laverty was confirmed as the new Down boss in August with Marty Clarke and Declan Morgan joining his backroom team.
Earlier this week, it was also confirmed that former Tyrone minor manager and Derry U20 boss Mickey Donnelly has been added to Laverty’s management team.
Laverty’s immediate focus is on Kilcoo’s upcoming defence of their Ulster Club title as they await the winners of Crossmaglen and Ballybay in the quarter-final.
Fermanagh - Kieran Donnelly
Kieran Donnelly’s first season as Fermanagh manager was a preverbal mixed bag.
They never looked like mounting a genuine challenge for promotion from Division Three, but were never really in relegation trouble either.
The problem for the Erne County is that the third tier looks even tougher next season with Offaly, Down, Cavan and Tipperary plying their trade in Division Three in 2023.
Ryan McCluskey departed as Fermanagh coach following their quarter-final Tailteann Cup loss to Cavan in Brewster Park.
Last month, it was confirmed that former Tyrone star Ronan O’Neill has been added to Donnelly’s backroom team as a forwards coach.
Fermanagh have a tough Ulster SFC draw as they’ll host defending champions Derry in the 2023 quarter-final.
Monaghan - Vinny Corey
Monaghan’s search to find Seamus McEnaney’s replacement wasn't quite as long as Donegal’s, but it did take a number of twists and turns.
Oisin McConville was the early front-runner before emphatically ruling himself out of contention and has since taken over as Wicklow boss.
It then appeared as though former Dublin star Jason Sherlock was a shoe-in for the job with Mark Counihan and Brendan Hackett also in contention.
All three were interviewed for the job before Sherlock and Hackett withdrew from the process while former Monaghan minor boss Counihan was told his application had been unsuccessful.
Having worked alongside McEnaney as a selector, former Monaghan ace Vinny Corey was confirmed as his successor at the end of September with Martin Corey, Dermot McArdle and Gabriel Bannigan joining his backroom team.
Corey’s first objective will be to keep the Farney County in Division One before their attention turns to a mouth-watering Ulster SFC quarter-final clash with rivals Tyrone in Healy Park.
Tyrone - Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher
Tyrone managers Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher were appointed on a three-year term after succeeding the legendary Mickey Harte at the end of 2020.
Their first two years in charge couldn’t have been more contrasting. In 2021, Tyrone ended the season as Ulster and All-Ireland champions.
By June 5, 2022, the Red Hands had relinquished their grip on both the Anglo Celt and the Sam Maguire after back-to-back defeats to Ulster rivals Derry and Armagh.
Last season wasn’t a total write-off for the county, however, as their U20 team won the All-Ireland title with Ruairi Canavan, Michael McGleenan, Steve Donaghy and Niall Devlin promoted to the senior squad ahead of the Qualifier defeat to Armagh.
The departure of Conor McKenna from the panel to resume his Aussie Rules career is a blow, but there is no shortage of talent coming through the ranks in Tyrone.
Year three under Logan and Dooher surely can’t be as bad as 2022, but it remains to be seen if Tyrone can scale the dizzying heights of their 2021 season again.
READ NEXT:
- Sky Sports end GAA broadcasting deal with 'split season a factor in decision'
- Fermanagh Senior Football Championship Final refixture details confirmed
Glen retain Derry SFC crown with impressive win over Slaughtneil
- Ulster players scoop Hurler of the Year awards as late Tyrone star is honoured at All Star banquet
Ulster Club Championship 2022 draw, fixture guide, betting odds and TV information
Sign up to our free sports newsletter to get the latest headlines to your inbox.
