The speculation is all part of the craic

Cavanman's Diary

So, The Cavan Job – not to be confused with The Italian Job, another comedy caper of sorts if we want to be unkind – is up for grabs again. Traditionally, in Cavan, there’s a process which repeats itself when it comes to this particular conundrum.

The supporters, reared to think of Cavan as old money royalty who just happen to be down on their luck for the last year or 50, begin to throw around A-List names who might jump at the chance to manage a superpower, albeit one that has only about 10 counties in Ireland below it in terms of major titles won in the 1970s, ’80s, ’90s, 2000s and 2010s.

“We need a big name,” supporters will opine. And the board have thought likewise on several occasions. In that period of time, Cavan have managed to snare five Celtic Cross holders, for example.

Eugene McGee, who started three years after leading Offaly to the Sam Maguire, was the first non-Cavanman to take the job.

Martin McHugh, who took up the reins three years after helping Donegal win their first All-Ireland, was next of the All-Ireland winners.

Then came Liam Austin, who came in for the 1998 season, having played midfield for Down in their 1991 All-Ireland success, and Mattie Kerrigan, an All-Ireland winner with Meath in 1967 who took over in November 2001.

After Kerrigan came Eamonn Coleman, 11 years after he led Derry to ultimate glory.

The end of 1969 can be seen as a demarcation point. Up till then, Cavan boasted 38 Ulster titles (give or take – some are disputed); the total now stands at 40. In the intervening period, the Cavan senior team manager’s position has been vacant on 24 occasions.

On other occasions, approaches have surely been made to illustrious outside managers so it’s fair to say that, historically, those at the elite end of the game with proven track records of success as a player or manager have tended not to be interested in taking over Cavan.

And when they have, results have been mixed. McGee, who was one of the biggest names in Gaelic games at the time, assembled a good team, had some notable wins in the Ulster Championship but ultimately fell short.

Austin stepped away after one year following player unrest; that whole regrettable saga, which became quite bitter and was played out largely in the public arena, was an ugly chapter in the history of the Cavan team.

Kerrigan led Cavan to the National League final in 2002, a free-wheeling semi-final win over Roscommon the highlight, but a disappointing championship followed and when Cavan lost to Antrim and Fermanagh in 2003, he stepped down.

The charismatic Coleman, a man adored by players, seemed to be on the verge of something special before tragically falling ill and passing away aged just 58 years. He repeatedly told members of his squad in 2004 that he was building for the following season but, sadly, illness intervened.

McHugh was the outlier, bringing a Cavan team who had forgotten how to win championship matches to the Anglo-Celt Cup in the space of three years and at a time when Ulster football was at, or close to, its zenith. The 1997 success remains the towering achievement for a whole generation of Cavan followers.

McHugh packed it in after that and, in the meantime, Cavan have had 11 different managers, namely Val Andrews (twice), Austin, Kerrigan, Coleman, Martin McElkennon and Damian Cassidy (joint-managers), Donal Keogan, Tommy Carr, Terry Hyland, Mattie McGleenan and Mickey Graham.

My predecessor in this newspaper, Eamonn Gaffney, used to joke that he had “seen off” in the region of 30 Cavan senior team managers from the 1960s through to his retirement in 2008.

I started working in newspapers in 2006 with the now-defunct Cavan Echo. Back then, Keogan was just taking over as manager. I worked for the short-lived Cavan Voice for six months – during which Donal took umbrage to something we wrote and refused to speak to us! – and then started in the Celt after Eamonn finished up.

The week after I arrived in the job, so too did Carr. And then came Val Andrews and Terry Hyland, then Val took on the job on his own, then Terry did likewise. McGleenan was next, followed by Graham.

Cavan, in common with most counties, have tended to chop and change but Graham and Hyland, with around a decade of service between them, were among the longest-serving managers the county has had.

When the job becomes vacant, it’s always a fun story to cover. The rumour mill – I imagine a sort of factory with worker-bees toiling round the clock to produce ever more fantastical stories - goes into overdrive.

In an era when the ubiquitous backroom team is key, new names pop up every day. Such and such managed a club and once played Sigerson football with the other fella; yer man is a clubmate of someone who was on a winning panel and his cousin knows the next lad.

There’s usually a coach or highly-rated strength and conditioning coach (there is no other type of S&C specialist), often from the north. That’s the rumour recipe: Throw it all in the mixing bowl, stir it about, add a sprinkling of selectors and maybe a guru of sorts, bake for 10 minutes on high and serve on WhatsApp.

I would safely say I have heard, on the grapevine, at least 30 names linked to the position in the last fortnight. With a conspiratorial nod, various football people have relayed their inside info. The fact that almost all of it is rubbish is moot; the speculation is all part of the craic.

At the time of writing, there are four confirmed runners (although, after the Celt broke the news last week that Downman Danny Hughes was in the hunt, there was some confusion over whether or not he had been, or needed to be, nominated) and it seems likely the successful candidate will come from that quartet.

Three are Cavanmen. Micheál McDermott has an impressive managerial CV, Jason O’Reilly is one of the county’s greatest goalscorers and has enjoyed success as a manager and Raymond Galligan is one of only three living Cavanmen to have lifted the Anglo-Celt Cup.

It will be fascinating to see who gets the gig and even more enthralling to observe how it plays out. A new manager brings curiosity, renewed interest, fresh hopes and, of course, the potential for disappointment. It’s a high wire act; it’s very public, it’s risky, the margins of error are small and, as with even the greatest managers in sport, there is a strong chance the whole thing will come crashing down.

And when it does, the landing is usually not soft. In this social media era particularly, hostility and ignorance have found their voice. It’s clear, then, that it takes courage to go for these roles but the rewards – sporting immortality – make them worth pursuing for those competitive and confident enough to take it on.

So roll up, roll up – the circus is in town for another couple of weeks and someone might shoot themselves out of a cannon and land in the bib marked bainisteoir yet.

We’ll watch with interest.