Martin McHugh continues to be linked with the vacant Donegal football job following Malachy O’Rourke’s decision to rule himself out of the running.
McHugh previously ruled himself out as a potential successor to Declan Bonner but there is now speculation that he may have had a rethink.
The Kilcar great is understood not to have been nominated for the role by any of Donegal’s clubs.
However, this in itself would not preclude him from getting the job.
The committee, led by county chairman Mick McGrath, tasked with appointing a new Donegal manager is understood to have the authority to look beyond those nominated by the county’s clubs.
Nominations for the post closed over two weeks ago with O’Rourke and former Donegal minor manager Shaun Paul Barrett believed to have been put forward for the role.
1992 All-Ireland winner McHugh, who media commitments have included working as a long-time GAA pundit for BBC Northern Ireland, has not made any comment on the Donegal managerial situation since his name began to be increasingly linked with the role in recent weeks.
There are suggestions that McHugh could be part of a ticket which includes his son Mark and Maxi Curran, who currently are in charge of the Donegal ladies management team.
Immediately after Declan Bonner’s departure on 20 July, five weeks after the county’s championship exit, Jim McGuinness was inevitably linked with a possible return to the role but that appears increasingly unlikely, with the Glenties man seemingly keen to continue in his soccer coaching career, which currently has him in a youth position at Derry City.
McGuinness led Donegal to the 2012 All-Ireland title but stepped down as manager after their All-Ireland Final defeat by Kerry in 2014.
He went on to work as a performance consultant for Celtic FC and held coaching positions at soccer clubs in China and USA.
In the summer of 2017 McGuinness became the assistant to coach Roger Schmidt at Chinese Super League club Beijing Sinobo Guoan but stepped down six months later, citing “personal family reasons”.
McGuinness was then appointed manager of second-tier US football club Charlotte Independence on a three-year contract in December 2018 but was sacked from the role within six months after his team’s run of only one win in 14 games.
Last year, he dismissed reports linking him with the Down job, saying he was “very much focused on soccer”.
McHugh overlooked for Donegal job in 1994
McHugh seemed set to land the Donegal job way back in 1994 after the departure of 1992 All-Ireland winning manager Brian McEniff only for PJ McGowan to instead be given the role.
Weeks later, the Kilcar man was appointed as Cavan boss and he guided the Breffni men to the 1997 Ulster title, with that run to provincial honours including a semi-final victory over his native county.
McHugh continued to be linked with the Donegal job over the next decade before the likelihood of him taking the role seemed to recede in recent years amid his increasing punditry commitments for RTE, BBC Northern Ireland and other media outlets.
One high-profile GAA pundit Colm O’Rourke has already made a decision this summer to drop the microphone and head to the dugout as he accepted the Meath football job.
Could Martin McHugh be about to make a similar move?
