FOUR OF the eight counties beaten in Saturday's first round of the All-Ireland football qualifiers are now searching for a new manager - a clear indication of the increasing price of failure in the championship.
Meath's Colm Coyle and Longford's Luke Dempsey resigned in the immediate aftermath of their respective defeats to Limerick and Laois, and were soon followed by Cavan's Donal Keoghan, who on Sunday announced he was also stepping down after the narrow defeat to Kildare.
Yesterday, Offaly manager Pat Roe informed county board chairman Pat Teehan he wouldn't be seeking a third year in charge, a decision he felt was in the best interests of Offaly football. They endured a particularly heavy defeat on Saturday, losing to Down by 5-19 to 2-10, and Roe, who previously managed Carlow and Wexford, was clearly coming under pressure.
Offaly reached the Leinster final just two years ago, but were since relegated to Division Four of the league (though gaining promotion this year) and were also well beaten by Westmeath in this year's Leinster championship.
Coyle's decision was the most unexpected, given the huge progress he had made with the county last year, getting to the All-Ireland semi-final. However, Saturday's mauling by Limerick was clearly too much to stomach.
While Tommy Dowd has also signalled his intention to step down with Coyle, second Meath selector Dudley Farrell, father of forward Brian and a Meath GAA development officer, is one possible candidate to take over, along with the obvious high-profile names such as Colm O'Rourke and Gerry McEntee.
Dempsey had indicated he would step down after three years unless he produced some silverware, and despite losing the O'Byrne Cup final to Dublin after a last-minute goal, he was true to his word. However, he has also indicated his desire to stay involved in management, and is one of the early candidates for the Offaly job.
Keoghan had served just two years in Cavan, and appeared to be making progress, starting with a first-round win over Antrim. They were looking good against Kildare too until stunned by an injury-time goal by James Kavanagh.
The football qualifiers, meanwhile, continue on Saturday with the GAA yesterday confirming the venues and throw-in times for round two. The first teams out of the hat on Sunday evening had home advantage, and as a result Tyrone will play Westmeath in Omagh (3pm, live on TV3), Donegal will play Monaghan in Ballybofey (5pm, live on RTÉ 2), Limerick will play Kildare in the Gaelic Grounds (7pm) and Laois will play Down in Portlaoise (7pm).
Monaghan and Donegal met in last year's qualifiers, with Monaghan winning, but the other three ties are all first championship clashes between the counties. The reward for the four winners on Saturday is a third round date with one of the four beaten provincial finalists, to be decided on a draw this Sunday evening.
It was also confirmed the Ulster football final replay between Armagh and Fermanagh would be again take place at Clones on Sunday, with throw-in of 3pm.
As expected, Semple Stadium in Thurles was chosen for two hurling quarter-finals on Sunday next, starting with Wexford against Waterford at 2pm, and followed by the all-Munster clash of Clare against Cork at 4pm. There was the suggestion Croke Park had been offered to the Ulster Council to stage their football final replay, possibly combining it with one of the football qualifiers, but it was since confirmed Croke Park is unavailable due to treatment works on the pitch.
SATURDAY
SFC All-Ireland Qualifiers (round two): Tyrone v Westmeath (Omagh, 3pm, live on TV3); Donegal v Monaghan (Ballybofey, 5pm); Limerick v Kildare (Gaelic Grounds, 7pm); Laois v Down (Portlaoise, 7pm).
SUNDAY
Ulster SFC Final replay: Armagh v Fermanagh (Clones, 3pm).
All-Ireland SHC Quarter-finals:
Wexford v Waterford (Semple Stadium, 2pm); Clare v Cork (Semple Stadium, 4pm).
