Paddy Tally: Tyrone native set to leave Kerry role to take over as Derry manager

Derry’s protracted search for a senior football manager appears to be over with reports that Paddy Tally is set to be ratified on Thursday night.

As things stand, Derry are the only county in Ireland without a manager for 2025 and have been criticised for their approach to finding Mickey Harte’s replacement with the former Tyrone and Louth manager stepping down after just one year in charge at the start of July.

Several high-profile candidates have been linked with the role including Karl Lacey, James Horan, Peter Keane and Mark Doran while Derry abandoned plans to include former manager Rory Gallagher on a ticket with Enda Muldoon last week.

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With only 74 days until the defence of their Division One title begins with a derby clash with Tyrone, Derry are understood to have approached Tally earlier this week with the Galbally native agreeing to meet a delegation of players on Tuesday.

The news hasn’t gone down well in Kerry, however, after Tally agreed to remain with the Kingdom for another season following a re-jig of Jack O’Connor’s backroom team.

Having joined Kerry ahead of the 2022 season, Tally was set to take on a new role as performance coach, but that arrangement appears to have been scuppered by Derry.

Tally coached his native Tyrone to their first All-Ireland senior title back in 2003 as part of Harte’s management team.

He also managed St Mary’s to an unlikely Sigerson Cup win in 2017 while he had a stint coaching Galway under Kevin Walsh before taking over as Down manager in 2019. He joined Jack O'Connor's management team in 2022 and helped Kerry regain the Sam Maguire in his first season working with the Kingdom.

Derry will take on Donegal in the Ulster SFC preliminary round having lost their Ulster title in 2024 following a 4-11 to 0-17 loss to Jim McGuinness’s men in the first round of the provincial series back in April before losing out to Kerry in the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final.

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