Tracey Kennedy: New Cork hurling boss must have ‘strong coaching background’
Cork County Board chairperson Tracey Kennedy has said the executive will be looking for someone with a “strong coaching background” to fill the post vacated by John Meyler.
Kennedy was keen to stress there is no individual “on or off the table at this point in time”.
She insisted interested candidates from outside the county will not be prejudiced against, but did note there is “plenty of talent within the county”.
When asked what difference it would make if a prospective candidate had previously been involved with a Cork senior hurling management team, Kennedy replied: “There are no limits.
“Whenever the group sits down to look at filling this vacancy, there is no-one on or off the table,” she expanded.
The sole prerequisite, as Kennedy outlined, is a certain level of coaching expertise.
Prior to Ronan McCarthy’s appointment as Cork football boss in August of 2017, then county board chairman Ger Lane said they were looking for a coach rather than a manager. It’ll be more of the same here.
“We have had a lot of conversations about this over the last few years. The approach of putting a coach in as manager came out of our strategic review where it was more we wanted an emphasis on coaching and whoever the new manager is, that they would have a strong coaching background, irrespective of whether or not they end up doing the coaching,” Kennedy explained.
“Coaching of skills is absolutely key to any sort of set-up like this. We are back to the term manager because we cannot get away from it. When we formerly appointed people who we called coaches, everyone calls them manager. We are appointing a manager, but you would like them to have a strong coaching background.
“All that said, I just really want to emphasise nobody is on or off the table at this point in time.”
Current football boss Ronan McCarthy was handed a three-year term when taking the reins, but whoever succeeds Meyler will not be afforded the same amount of time.
The two-year term given to Meyler and his predecessor Kieran Kingston will also apply to the latest incumbent.
“I know from discussions with the county secretary and executive that two-year terms are probably what is being favoured going forward. The three-year term was important for Ronan [McCarthy] because it was a rebuilding situation. I expect two-year terms will continue to be the norm.”
The first-ever Cork GAA high-performance manager, a post which should be filled in the coming month, will not play a role in the appointment of the new hurling manager.
“The high-performance manager will be a key person in the operation of all our elite teams over the next few years so, in my mind, it would be a case that the prospective candidate, before being confirmed as Cork senior hurling manager, possibly would sit down with the high-performance manager and go through whatever the requirements might be and so on as part of the process.”
Kennedy added: “No selection committee has been put in place. I would like to get a new manager in place as quickly as possible but, at the same time, it is too important to rush it. We would certainly like to have the new manager in place before we get to the really serious end of the county championships because, obviously, that person would like to see club action. I don’t want to rush it. It is a major, major appointment.”
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