1. Peadar Healy (Cork)
Healy’s first season at the helm has proven a baptism of fire so far.
The Rebels tumbled out of Division 1 but were slightly unfortunate to do so, having won three of their seven games.
The EirGrid All-Ireland U21 final loss to Mayo was another blow to the county’s football fortunes and Cork were forced to deny allegations of a breach of discipline on their recent training camp in Portugal.
Healy’s job isn’t an easy one and he knows that defeat against Waterford or Tipperary in the Munster SFC quarter-final is not an option.
2. Eamonn Burns (Down)
This could be a short championship summer for Eamonn Burns and Down.
It’s the former playing star’s first season at the helm but the Mourne men endured a miserable Division 1 League campaign.
Down lost all seven of their League matches and were regarded as the whipping boys of the top tier.
But as they home in on an Ulster SFC quarter-final against Monaghan, they can take some solace from the fact that they lost by just two points against the same opposition in February.
3. Eamonn Fitzmaurice (Kerry)
Expectations are always sky-high in Kerry but Fitzmaurice finds himself managing a Kingdom team competing in the same championship as dominant Dublin.
Kerry are arguably the best of the rest right now but their League final mauling against the Dubs, and especially their second half display, will have raised concerns.
Kerry could have done with ending their recent losing streak in big games against the Sky Blues but barely raised a gallop against a fit, motivated and mobile Dublin team.
The worry for Kerry is that some of the more experienced players have too much mileage on the clock and Fitzmaurice faces a tricky job during the summer as he aims to smash Dublin’s stranglehold on Sam Maguire.
4. Mick Lillis (Laois)
Saturday evening’s home clash against Wicklow at O’Moore Park is simply must-win for Laois.
Having suffered relegation from Division 2 of the Allianz League, the county is badly in need of a lift.
And there’s pressure on Laois to perform, especially considering the county’s outrage when it was decided that the winners will play Dublin at Nowlan Park, and not O’Moore Park.
Wicklow won’t lack for motivation as they feel they’re the forgotten party in this saga and this is a potential banana skin for Lillis and his men.
5. Kieran McGeeney (Armagh)
It’s year two of the McGeeney project in Armagh but he’s on the back foot following relegation back to Division 3.
In his first season at the helm, the 2002 All-Ireland winning captain masterminded promotion from the top tier but results this year were below par.
Armagh’s Ulster SFC quarter-final against Cavan is a crunch tie.
It’s been seen in recent seasons that the vast majority of teams bowing out of their provincial championships don’t have much appetite for the qualifiers.
But a victory for Armagh over a fancied Cavan side would set them up nicely for a crack at Derry or Tyrone in the semi-finals.
6. Stephen Rochford (Mayo)
Rochford stepped into the Mayo hot-seat following the controversial player heave that ousted joint-bosses Pat Holmes and Noel Connelly last year.
And the expectation in Mayo is that they can have another crack at winning that elusive first All-Ireland SFC crown since 1951.
Anything less than a semi-final appearance would surely be considered a failure when you consider that Mayo pushed Dublin hard over the course of two games at the same stage of the competition last year.
Mayo’s League campaign was generally underwhelming but they did finish with encouraging victories over Connacht rivals Roscommon and Down to preserve their top-flight status.
7. John Brudair (Limerick)
Limerick picked up just a single point from seven Division 3 outings – a draw against Tipperary on the opening day in Kilmallock.
They finished bottom of the table and were duly relegated, four points adrift of second from bottom Westmeath.
The championship omens for the Shannonsiders aren’t great.
They face a Clare side brimming with confidence at the Munster SFC quarter-final stage and if they lose that, it’s hard to see the Treaty men having much energy for the qualifiers.
8. Mick O’Dowd (Meath)
Meath face Louth or Carlow in the Leinster SFC quarter-final and manager Mick O’Dowd knows that he needs a win.
Last year, O’Dowd was bullish in his assertion that the Royals would push Dublin hard in the Leinster championship but they fell flat on their faces against Westmeath, losing to their neighbours for the very first time in senior championship fare.
Meath began their Division 2 campaign with an encouraging victory over Armagh but won just one other game, against relegated Laois.
They were competitive though, claiming draws against Galway and Derry along the way, and managed to steer clear of relegation.
This is O’Dowd’s fourth year at the helm and Meath fans will demand improvement on last year’s summer showings.
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