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That sounds like an awful lot of influence. Especially when you consider the divided opinions across the county on him. I think these things and all related to our underage can’t be autocratic in nature, decisions need to be made involving as many people on the ground as possible.

Times up I'd say, its unfortunate and it really is a sad situation. Im sure that management are hurting,It was an awful display against our near neighbours, and at this stage it’s becoming indefensible. There is going to be a change in management the only question is whether it happens now or closer to 2027.
I’ve said before that I believe an entirely internal management team is the right way forward. Bringing in people who truly understand the setup and the standards required is essential if we’re to rejuvenate the Tailteann Cup campaign and compete properly. Niall Stack Manager | Nigel Dunne coach | Peter Brady selector | Karl Slattery selector | add in the s& c , physio, nutrition,
kitmen etc. Otherwise, we’re heading nowhere and I take no pleasure in saying that.
As a proud Offaly man, this weekend was a dark one for football. But I have no doubt we will come again.
Declan Kelly deserves immense credit for the work he has put into both underage and adult football. Over the past three years, he has helped bring us to a League title, and that progress should not be overlooked.
Neither should the overall current situation.

Niall stack played a blanket defense with tullamore that literally had the most hardcore tullamore fans groaning in the stands even as he won county titles and that was with the most talented group of players in the county ...no thanks

Nigel dunne no proper experience at that level either to get a coaching role like that definitely not under a manager like stack with no intercounty experience ....I mean look how critical we are of harte who is possible in top 3 gaelic football managers of all time and Kelly who has won an all Ireland with some of these players......

Niall Stack played a system that suited Tullamore, a side that was packed full of intercounty stars in four of the five outfield lines, but who was perceived to have a much more moderate inside forward line.

All of this sort of speculation is moot. Nigel Dunne is part of an U-20 management setup with Roger Ryan where I would assume, the plan is to go for more than one year. I've plenty of time for Stack, Brady, Slattery and them all, but there's no guarantee that any or all of those men would want to take on all that's involved with intercounty management.

A lot of fuss was made about Joe Murphy talking about an all-Carlow setup after the Division Four final, but the right person for the job is the right person. If it's a close call, then of course you'd have a bias towards Offaly people, but in this county more than any, we should know that the right person is sometimes an outsider, and that's fine too.

I don't think your right about DK been on under age committee. County board have alot of members they would not throw that on our senior manager and father of a lad that played minor last year. It wouldn't be a parent of a playet that would get that job.

Regards to mickey managing himself. The games changed alot in last few year, mickey was a great manager he's time has past though. I wish him luck, was a great name to get in for player bounce at the time.

Stack and Dunne are undoubtedly inexperienced there’s no getting away from that. On the other hand, the likes of Mickey Harte and Declan Kelly bring proven experience. But experience alone isn’t always a guarantee of success, and we’ve seen that in different setups.
That said, I do place a lot of weight on what Stack achieved with Tullamore. He brought a real sense of pragmatism, changed the culture within the group, and got the very best out of players who previously might not have reached that level. They became consistent, tight knit, and ultimately maximised their potential.
Nigel Dunne’s work also stands out. He coached the minors last year and led them to a win over a Louth team managed by Gavin Devlin, who is widely regarded as one of the top coaches in the country. Speaking to one of the players from that Offaly minor team, it was clear how meticulous Dunne was in his preparation for that Leinster final ,he studied Louth in incredible detail, and much of what he predicted came to pass. That level of tactical insight clearly played a big role in a result that, on paper, Offaly weren’t expected to achieve. Now look i will conced its underage and not senior so I take your points and we must be carefulwhen trying to tak aboutthe senior side.
As for Brady and Slattery, they’re legends and would command instant respect within any setup.
Ultimately though, I can’t disagree with the concerns being raised. There is inexperience there, and perhaps the safer option would be to go with a more seasoned manager possibly even someone from outside the county, as Lone Shark suggested. I do understand both sides of the argument.

All the talking the post mortem appears to center on the management and clearing them out. Thats fair enough and they must standover an attrocious season.

Backs played as forwards made absolutely no sense. the lads in question are decent players but limited to certain roles. absolute madness trying to play them as half forwards. just don't bring anything to the table in those roles and were completely lost. that is poor management decision.

But I also think the group of players in this squad need to take accountability for this performance. the players are ultimately out there on the pitch and they brought nothing. 15 v 15 and they didn't stand up. They were walked through. that's on the players.

I see some comments that they look very tired Why is this? These are intercounty footballers and they had this date in the diary a long time and knew this was date to be in tip top condition. so how did they get that so wrong.

Tomás Ó Sé previously linked with the job. Currently with the Kerry U20s. I think he’s a fair choice as he’d command instant respect and knows more about success than most.

I think we need someone inspiring. He’d be my first choice. At least he’d have a reputation. Don’t think we’ll ever be as bad as when Stephen Wallace, a junior manger in Kerry, was appointed and gone as quick.

In terms of locals, Niall Stack, Nigel, like who else is pulling up any trees at the minute? Old guard like Tom Coffey, Stephen Darby? Kellaghan?

There’s really no stand out candidate. An outsider is fine but if there was a better local maybe.

Would Anthony Cunningham consider an inter county job again?

Really it’s so hard to see where we go from here. Like we actually have a decent squad compared to the last 10-15 years I’d say when we were without a provincial win in 8 years, and in and out of Division 3 and 4. We’ve a young panel with history of success. There’s potential there but only with the right person in charge, and crucially, the right attitude and atmosphere in the dressing room. It’s a well known fact it’s quite authoritarian in there.

While I think time will be up for the current management in current guise in the not too distant future, I would leave it to end of year. There has been a ball of money spent on this management - one of them most likely more than other. They should be asked to finish out the year and honour the money that was paid out. Who knows, they could still get a run in Tailteann Cup and it is their team, their squad with their preparation and tactics etc. They chose this squad and have done the work over last 2 to 3 years, so they should be left to see out the year and make the best fist of their decisions that they can.

I agree that players need also to be accountable and it isn't all on management. While management is largely responsible for the dynamics around a group, fitness and effort levels etc, the players also have a major role to play here. While I did not see Saturday's game, I have seen incidences this year where some of the players could have been trying harder. Maybe that was a fitness thing or some other reason but in some of those league games, some of the players looked like it didn't mean enough to them. Maybe some are coming from a lower level at club Intermediate, Senior B etc and just dont know where the standard expectation is. Either way, Saturday is not the first day opposition teams waltzed through our defense without being tracked.

As for future, I'd have no issue with some of names trotted out above being involved in a backroom team but there would be some requirements around experience etc needed to have an important role like a manager or coach. We should be looking for lads that have been involved in senior management teams at inter-county level and lots of senior club level experience, who also have good knowledge of Offaly football. They need to have come up against various tactics and problems previously so that they have the knowledge and experience to do things right and are also up to speed with modern football trends and means of doing things. Coaching and management is not easy, particularly at that level. You need to know your stuff and exactly what you are looking for. Strong hands with experience and know how will be needed to turn the thing around and it should not be a learning job for anyone as it is too important. We have a talent pool of players within the county, that if we can get it right, could go and do something.

No disrespect to the man, but i'd leave Nigel alone to develop as coach with 20s. That is a very important group. He did great with U17 minors but he is in his first year in a senior football management team with Shamrocks. Nothing against him at all but he needs to build experience which he is clearly doing, and he will have something to offer down the track with less pressure and with more experience when he is ready. Senior inter-county is different level to what his experience is currently. Not sure what Slattery has been doing on coaching or management front and he was a great player, but we should be looking for guys who have been coaching at a good level and who have been managing or involved in management at a high level with proper experience. A very specific set of skills is required and you don't pick that up in a year or two. If anyone does not fit that pre-requisite, then I don't think they should be considered.

I genuinely would consider holding on to Mickey Harte if he has not lost the group, and surround him with fresh knowledgeable Offaly voices. Maybe that is something that would be considered depending on the views of the senior players. Maybe a clean slate is required and if so, then so be it.

Would be totally against retaining Mickey Harte. A brilliant manager with a fantastic record with Tyrone, I think he also has to be held accountable for what has happened this year. A lot of people seem to think everything is Declan Kelly's fault this year, and success last year was all down to Mickey Harte, but I doubt very much every decision made this year hasnt been made without Mickey Harte's agreement.

Mickey Harte is probably getting away with a lot of criticism based on his history and what he has achieved, coupled with the fact that DK is so heavily involved in every area of offaly Football. When things go wrong he will invariably feel the pinch more.

Throughout most of his success, Mickey Harte has had Gavin Devlin at his side. Not just because of what's going on in Louth at the moment, Gavin Devlin's stock is rising hard right now.

Gobbler wrote: ↑Mon Apr 13, 2026 12:37 am I see some comments that they look very tired Why is this? These are intercounty footballers and they had this date in the diary a long time and knew this was date to be in tip top condition. so how did they get that so wrong.

It's not the players' job to dictate their own training load, to assess GPS data, to decide who plays how many minutes in games, to decide how much rest they take and when.

We can say with confidence that if Declan Kelly felt that someone wasn't doing what they're told, he wouldn't be long pulling them into line, and anyway, there have been Offaly panels in the past where there were widespread accusations of players not being willing to put in the hard yards to get as fit as they need to, but I've never heard that even suggested about this group. I'd be very confident they're doing what they're told to do.

I honestly read the body language of the players as not being physically tired, more like they are checked out. There is no way that any competent management team would have players completing heavy sessions in the week of a championship game. When Laois lost the ball, 2-12 sprinted to get back. We were way slower to do so and when we did, runners weren’t tracked or we were beaten 1 on 1. I don’t like getting onto players, they give up any sort of a social life for Offaly, and I would more-so point the finger at management overall for not establishing the correct environment for players to stay motivated and not see it as a ‘slog’ and just waiting to get to club championship. People might disagree, that’s perfectly fine. But that’s the overall view I took on Saturday.

Based on the Tailteann results over the last few years, it’s clear that this group need a manager who’ll inspire them and they’ll want to go out and battle for. It’s hard to see where that person comes from. There probably does need to be more of an Offaly influence on the management team and not just one person, who I presume Harte and Bree were relying on to make calls on players and panel selection. Again, hard to see where those come from.

Despite all this, I desperately hope that we can turn it around and be competitive in the Tailteann. At the minute, it looks like a foregone conclusion that it won’t be. But I would love if we were to come back at the end of the Tailteann and say we were wrong about the management team.