Malachy O’Rourke’s expected appointment as Tyrone football manager has been confirmed.
Current Glen club manager O’Rourke was the only nominee to succeed Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher after being proposed by his club Errigal Ciaran.
The Fermanagh man’s appointment was rubberstamped at Tuesday’s meeting of the Tyrone county committee and he will take charge for a three-year term.
He has been in charge of the Derry club since late 2020 and has led them to three county titles, two Ulster Club triumphs and an All-Ireland success last January.
Maghera-based Glen have begun their championship campaign in Derry with the club season running until the All-Ireland final in January.
O’Rourke has been out of the inter-county scene since he stepped down as Monaghan boss in June 2019 having led the Farneymen to two Ulster SFC titles.
Led Fermanagh to 2008 Ulster final
The Fermanagh native has lived in Ballygawley since the 1990s and won Tyrone titles with Errigal Ciaran both as a player and manager.
Prior to taking over at Monaghan in 2012, O’Rourke also led Fermanagh to the Ulster final in 2008, while he previously managed club sides Tyholland, The Loup and Cavan Gaels.
Amid his success with Glen, who had never won a Derry title prior to his arrival, O’Rourke has also been linked with the Donegal and Derry jobs in recent years.
Tyrone have been searching for a new boss after joint-managers Dooher and Logan stepped down last month but it quickly became clear that O’Rourke was the only candidate for the job.
Dooher and Logan led the Red Hands to Ulster and All-Ireland titles in their first year in charge in 2021 after Mickey Harte’s departure but the three subsequent seasons failed to yield similar successes.
Appointment ‘excites’ Donnelly
Tyrone player Mattie Donnelly told BBC Sport NI on Saturday that O’Rourke’s imminent arrival “gets me and the people of Tyrone excited”.
“Obviously people of that calibre are few and far between,” said the Tyrone veteran, who is mulling over prolonging his inter-county career into 2025.
“I would be good friends with a lot of people who have played under him and they speak so highly of him.
“If Malachy was to come to Tyrone, the panel of players there next year would surely look forward to it.”
Since memorably winning the All-Ireland title in September 2021 despite being ravaged by Covid-19 weeks before, Tyrone have struggled at championship level.
They were knocked out of this year’s Sam Maguire Cup at the last-12 stage in a surprise home defeat by Roscommon but the Red Hands remain a Division One side.
And with the county winning a second All-Ireland Under-20 title in three seasons this year, O’Rourke will have plenty of young talent to work with.