It has been over 100 days since Mickey Harte left his role as Derry manager, and it doesn't look like the wait will be over any time soon.
Mark Doran, the County Down native who is currently managed Slaughtneil has taken a coaching role with Roscommon, thus ruling him out of the Derry job.
Initially Rory Gallagher was tipped to return to the role but the county board released a statement saying that they would not be re-appointing him.
Some outside choices such as Mayo's James Horan and Kerry's Peter Keane were then sounded out, but ultimately turned it down.
Doran was then reported as the frontrunner for the job, but after a couple of weeks of silence, Donegal legend Karl Lacey emerged as the top target.
Roscommon GAA are delighted to welcome Mark Doran as our Senior Football Coach for 2025.#RosGAA pic.twitter.com/xCmt54Nyf1
— Roscommon GAA (@RoscommonGAA) October 18, 2024
The Kilcoo manager quickly dismissed this idea after his side beat Burren in the Down senior championship final last Sunday.
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“There’s absolutely no truth in that. I haven’t engaged in any conversation with Derry GAA.
“I just find it bizarre. My full focus is with Kilcoo, and that group [of players] know that. All my energy, all my commitment, all my dedication, everything, is just with this group at this moment in time.
“I haven’t engaged in any conversation about any inter-county job.”
Doran on the other hand refused to talk to the media following Slaughtneil's defeat to Watty Graham's Glen in the Derry championship, and naturally that added to the speculation that he will indeed be in line for the county job.
However the latest twist in this never ending saga is that Doran has taken a role as part of the coaching staff in Roscommon and will be assisting Davy Burke's side for the 2025 season.
From the outside looking in, it looks as though Derry have exhausted all of their main targets and with the county championship final being played next week, whoever gets the job will have missed the entire competition.
With the pre-season tournaments now scrapped, the inter-county season doesn't officially begin until February, however with these new rules being implemented from the start of the year, managers are already making plans to try and adjust and get ahead of the curve.
