Jim McGuinness is the most sought-after manager in all of the GAA.
He could walk into any county tomorrow and they’d find a job for him, in either code.
He’s got a CV that shows his first job in soccer was as a performance consultant for one of the biggest clubs in the world.
He progressed from that to become an underage coach at Celtic, playing a huge part in their youth development.
From there, his third ever job in soccer, he jumped straight to the role of assistant manager of Beijing Sinobo Guoan alongside renowned European coach Roger Schmidt.
Things escalated from that. It was only January when he was instilled at 33/1 to take the Republic of Ireland job – as manager.
Now, Neil O’Riordan of the Irish Sun has reported that he’s a contender to take over at Galway United.
It doesn’t quite follow the same trajectory. It isn’t exactly a job he needs to take.
He has to start somewhere, it’s close to home, it’s a project that could garner some serious financial investment soon but McGuinness’ rise over the last six years since joining Celtic part-time has been meteoric.
Galway sit sixth in the second tier of the League of Ireland at present.
McGuinness, despite having never taken another county in Gaelic football, despite having never managed a senior side in soccer remains one of the hottest pieces of real estate that any side in any sport could acquire.
As a psychologist, as a scientist and as a tactician, he has been proven himself throughout this decade and he has been doing it in two different sports in three different countries.
Taking the Galway United job would be exciting for the League of Ireland first division but it feels like it would be burying something – if the talent of McGuinness in this field is still to be proven, it’s burying the aura and the interest he brings.
A Premier Division side would take a punt on him if there was a vacant job. But the Galway one is vacant now. And, presumably like a lot of people, they know out west that it never really is a punt with Jim McGuinness.
