PHILLY McMahon was impressed by what he heard from the Derry County Board and seriously intrigued by the prospect of becoming manager of the Oak Leaf county.
But, in the end, the approach from last season’s National League champions, was “too short notice” for the popular Dubliner.
The eight-time All-Ireland winner stepped back and Derry have since appointed former Down manager and Kerry assistant-boss Paddy Tally to turn their fortunes around after a poor 2024 Championship campaign.
“Someone approached me about the Derry job and out of respect I met with Derry and I sat down and chatted to them about it,” McMahon explained.
“To be honest, there’s a good package there in regards to what the county wants to do going forward and how much the people around the county board want things to happen and change.
“That was impressive but the timeline and the turnaround was just too much for me.
“Managing a team, nevermind an inter-county team outside of Dublin wasn’t something I thought I’d be doing this year. But it was most interesting, it was the most interesting conversation I’ve had about management.
“It got to the point where I didn’t have time to pull things together and I just said I had to step back from it. I’ve been offered a lot of jobs whether it be coaching, performance-coaching or management and this one was very interesting, a very interesting proposition.
“There’s a really good team there that can do well next year.
“Ulster is very, very appetising next season when you look at Jim McGuinness being back, Malachy O’Rourke going to Tyrone, Derry getting a new manager… It’s very interesting for me because if you do well in Ulster then who knows where you can go because next year it could be very open.
“But Derry was just short-notice for me and I had to pull back.”
An innovator in sport and business, McMahon has worked with League of Ireland clubs Shamrock Rovers as strength and conditioning coach and Bohemians as a performance coach. He is a is also a well-informed columnist and popular pundit on BBC NI’s coverage of Gaelic Football.
He will see him take the plunge into management at some stage, but only when the time is right.
“The only two pillars left are coaching and management,” he said.
“Even before I retired I was learning my trade and it’s something I would like to dip my toe into but it has to be at the right time.
“My son is nearly three, we just got the house renovated… For me it’s about timing and you have to be able to give 100 per cent because you’re there to support the group, you’re there to make sure you get the best out of the people and if you haven’t got all the other bits in line then you’re not going to do what you want to do with them.
“I’ve been very lucky to work with management teams and try and get them to think certain ways and implement certain things.
“That’s been trial-and-error for me to see what things I can take into it when I manage. It’s exciting for me and I think I’ve got new, innovative ways and I’ve got things I experienced from my own career and things from other sports that I think would be different.
“I’m going to make sure that when I do let those things out of the bag that it’s the right time.”
