Conor Glass approached Malachy O'Rourke last year to gauge his interest in becoming Derry manager. O'Rourke said that due to feeling he had "unfinished business" with Glass's club Glen, he was not interested in the Derry role.
The Fermanagh man has managed Glen to three consecutive Derry SFC titles and this year's All-Ireland senior club title, defeating St Brigid's in the final.
Last year, Glen controversially lost to Kilmacud Crokes in the All-Ireland decider. That was, perhaps, the business O'Rourke wanted to finish.
21 January 2024; Glen manager Malachy O'Rourke speaks to his players and coaching staff at half-time during the AIB GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Club Championship Final match between Glen of Derry and St Brigid's of Roscommon at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
"Malachy was the main one for us with the connection with Glen, [and him] knowing Derry football," Derry captain Glass told the GAA Social podcast.
"I had a sit down with Malachy at [my] house. I just said, 'Are you keen to take this job because we feel you are the man for the job'.
"Malachy acknowledged it. He felt privileged to be spoken about in that regard because at that time everyone talking about how Derry needed a top level manager to go to the next level.
"His focus was Glen. He said, 'I have unfinished business with Glen'. As a Glen man, I was like, 'Unreal' but as a Derry man, I was like, 'Shit'. It was mixed emotions for myself.
"At that time, we weren't letting anyone know we had chatted. We had to go to [Glen] training and both of us [be like] 'Well, Malachy, what's the craic?'"
27 January 2024; Derry manager Mickey Harte, second from left, and Kerry manager Jack O'Connor, second from right, meet before the Allianz Football League Division 1 match between Kerry and Derry at Austin Stack Park in Tralee, Kerry. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
The Derry job had been vacant after interim manager Ciaran Meenagh indicated he did not want to permanently succeed Rory Gallagher.
Former Tyrone boss Mickey Harte, who had managed Louth for the previous three seasons, was eventually appointed Derry manager. Harte and O'Rourke were not the only ones approached.
"Jim Gavin was a no-go. I think James Horan was another name to go after. Nothing came of it," said Glass.
"To be fair to [Derry operations manager] Stephen [Barker], I left it in his court. He said, 'We're going to get a top end manager. You have to trust me on that'.
"I know Stephen long enough to trust his word. He was put under serious pressure during that time to get stuff over the line. To be fair, he did, and I just had to trust his decision."
Glass was in Cavan for a weekend away with his then girlfriend, now fiancée, Niamh, when he discovered that Harte would be appointed.
27 January 2024; Sean O'Shea of Kerry is tackled by Conor Glass of Derry during the Allianz Football League Division 1 match between Kerry and Derry at Austin Stack Park in Tralee, Kerry. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
"I found out through Twitter that Mickey Harte was the manager. It wasn't put into the [team] WhatsApp group," said Glass.
"Once Stephen rang, when he first said it, I was like, 'Sure, he's with Louth'. I didn't really believe it. I thought it was just rumours on Twitter.
"I was shocked because I didn't think his name was on the table because he was with Louth. It was nothing to do with the Tyrone connection."
20 January 2024; Derry coach Gavin Devlin before the Bank of Ireland Dr McKenna Cup final match between Derry and Donegal at O'Neills Healy Park in Omagh, Tyrone. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Harte brought Gavin Devlin, his right-hand man during his time as Louth manager and also from his latter years with Tyrone, with him to Derry. Glass was briefly concerned about Harte's nous.
"That was something I spoke about to Stephen," said Glass.
"I was like, 'Is he going to be up with the times? Is he going to play defensive football here?' Stephen Barker was like, 'Trust me'.
"I had never met Gavin Devlin at that stage. I had spoken to the Slaughtneil boys about him. Once I had that initial meeting with Gavin and Mickey, you could see that these boys mean business.
"Gavin is a magician when it comes to the tactical side of things. He can just make you focus so well. His knowledge of football is outstanding and you can see why people speak in such high regard for him. They combine well together."
