PADDY Tally will be confirmed as the new Derry manager later this week, ending months of search and speculation.
The Galbally native will leave his role with Kerry to take over with the Oak Leafers, who have been searching for Mickey Harte’s replacement since July 8.
Tally’s backroom team is understood to contain Paul McIver and Enda Muldoon, although speculation that Ryan McMenamin will join up is wide of the mark.
A ticket headed by Philly McMahon also came under late consideration in recent days but Derry’s executive committee last night decided to propose Tally to go forward to a full county board meeting on Thursday for ratification.
It will be Tally’s second managerial job at inter-county level and his second spell with Derry, having previously coached them between 2013 and 2015 under Brian McIver.
He had a similar pathway in Down, coaching them to an All-Ireland final in 2010 under James McCartan before later returning as manager in 2019, staying three seasons before stepping down at the end of the 2021 campaign.
Tally had done a single season coaching Galway before that, and subsequently moved on to Kerry where he helped them to an All-Ireland in his first season.
His role was set to be altered in 2025, with Cian O’Neill coming in as coach and Tally moving to a position as performance coach.
However Tally, a member of Tyrone’s 1995 All-Ireland final squad, will now depart the Kingdom and take over from Harte, under whom he coached Tyrone to their first ever All-Ireland title in 2003.
Tally’s appointment draws to a close an exhaustive search by Derry that has spanned four months. They are the last county in Ireland to appoint a manager for 2025.
Having initially pursued a return for Rory Gallagher, they moved on to an approach to James Horan, who mulled over it before turning the job down.
Former Kerry boss Peter Keane was then contacted but after preliminary discussions, Derry pulled back from the idea. He has since been appointed Clare manager.
Derry then switched their attentions to Mark Doran, who appeared set to take the job before pulling out in the days after his Slaughtneil side were beaten by Glen in the Derry SFC semi-final.
That left the Oak Leafers back at the drawing board. Johnny McBride turned the job down while a proposed ticket of Barry Dillon and Paul McIver pulled out of the running having offered their services.
A ticket headed by Enda Muldoon and that included a return for Rory Gallagher in the backroom was then considered but pulled before it was tabled to the executive committee.
That led eventually to contact being made with Tally, as well as former Dublin defender Philly McMahon.
The Ballymun native is understood to have been interested and had pulled a backroom team together, but Derry have plumped for Tally in the end.
Counties cannot officially begin training until early next month.