Paddy Crozier has been given the task of moulding the wealth of potential in Derry football into a team capable of living with Ulster's finest after being ratified as senior manager for a three-year period.
It came down to a straight shootout between Crozier and the highly-regarded John Brennan, who has won county championships with Lavey and Slaughtneil and even repeated the trick in Tyrone and Antrim. However, Brennan was beaten to the post for a second successive occasion, after being edged out by Mickey Moran last year.
Former player Damien Barton and 2002 All-Ireland winning minor manager Chris Brown withdrew their names before Tuesday's vote.
Crozier is from the Ballymaguigan club but has been involved with Dungiven and Lavey, while he acted as Brown's assistant in 2002. His selectors are yet to be announced but the team trainer from that minor team, Bernie Henry, comes on board.
Derry have been on the verge of a breakthrough in Ulster in recent times. Too many wides let Armagh off the hook in this year's championship and last year they cut a swathe through the qualifiers to reach the All-Ireland semi-finals, though they were well off the pace set by Kerry.
With young players like Mark Lynch and Eoin Bradley making a decent impression in the forward line recently, the talent is available for Crozier to make an impact.
Limerick, knocked out of the championship in the last two years by Derry, hope to have a manager for ratification by next Tuesday night. The football board have failed to come up with a name thus far, postponing an announcement last week.
Ger Lawlor, who managed Monaleen to the county title last Sunday, and Kerry legend Mickey Ned O'Sullivan are the names left in the hat. Former Clare manager and Kerry native John Kennedy had been a front-runner but he pulled out because of business commitments.
Meanwhile, a decision on whether the Meath club football final goes ahead this Sunday will be decided today as Navan O'Mahony's contest their disqualification from the championship by bringing the issue to the Disputes Resolution Authority.
O'Mahony's beat St Peter's, Dunboyne, 1-14 to 1-12, in the semi-final but were subsequently thrown out for using four replacements instead of three during extra-time. The Leinster Council rejected their appeal forcing them to seek a rule loophole with the DRA.
The Navan club have requested their case be held after the weekend but, unless the DRA rule otherwise, the Meath County Board intend to hold their showpiece event in Navan between St Peter's and Blackhall Gaels this Sunday at 3.30pm.
