Meath boss’ chance of a third year in charge depends on players’ call for new coaching team
O’Rourke’s extension for a third year as manager was up for discussion at a meeting of management late last week, but it has been pushed on until early next week.
Crucially, that will give him more time to see if he can make coaching additions that look like they are the key part to him getting the green light to see out the third year of the three he agreed to in 2022 when he replaced Andy McEntee.
That three-year term was subject to a review after two years. That review was thought to have been completed in recent weeks.
A central part of the review is understood to have canvassed the opinion of players, with a desire for coaching change part of the consensus coming across in that engagement.
A statement last week issued after the management meeting outlined that the review “remains ongoing” and would be completed ahead of the county board meeting on Tuesday night next.
Meath’s management committee meet first this coming Monday when a recommendation is likely to be made and put to clubs the following night.
Meath clubs have gone against management recommendations on the inter-county team management three times in the last 15 years.
They declined to approve Eamonn O’Brien’s continuation in 2010 but blocked moves to brings Séamus McEnaney’s time to an end in 2012 and McEntee’s in 2021.
O’Rourke is keen to continue, but two of his original selectors, former players Barry Callaghan and Stephen Bray, have opted out.
Trevor Giles was added to the backroom team for 2023 as a replacement to coach Paul Garrigan, while Seán Boylan, the county’s four-time All-Ireland-winning manager, has also been involved.
But it is unclear if they would still be on board in the event of O’Rourke being approved for a third year.
Without an enhanced coaching set-up in place prior to next week, the path forward for the two-time All-Ireland winner will be tricky.
O’Rourke’s time in charge has been largely indifferent. Meath won the Tailteann Cup last year but have remained in Division 2 the last two years.
And both Leinster championship campaigns have been poor, as was this year’s All-Ireland group stage which saw Meath lose to Louth for the first time in 49 years. Three first-half goals helped Louth to a 10-point win over O’Rourke’s charges at Grattan Park in Inniskeen in May.
O’Rourke has overseen significant personnel change with the age profile dropping and a raft of debutants introduced, prompting him to suggest after the Monaghan defeat in the last round of the group stage that a complete rebuild could take five years.
He also indicated after that game at Kingspan Breffni Park that if there was a sense in the squad that change was preferred, he would step aside.
Meanwhile, the future of Brian Dooher and Feargal Logan as Tyrone joint managers is expected to become clearer later this week.
Dooher and Logan, who had to sit out part of the year as he recovered from illness, have completed the first year of a second three-year term.
