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Jim McGuinness will continue as Donegal senior football manager with an extension agreement in place for the 2012 All-Ireland winner to remain at the helm. The Glenties native has been out and about at various Donegal club championship games over the course of the opening two rounds of action. And while no official word has yet been forthcoming on his future, The Irish News understands that McGuinness has now committed to a fourth season having initially come back into the fray in 2024. McGuinness originally took up the position back in 2011 and in a four-season spell landed three Ulster SFC crowns as well as the Sam Maguire. Donegal also lost out in the 2014 All-Ireland final to Kerry. At the time of his original departure later that same year McGuinness spoke candidly about the significance of a four-year cycle in the context of Olympic preparation. “I asked for four years because I felt it might take four years to win an All-Ireland,and that was the reason I went for that number. It’s four years for an Olympic cycle and it’s an Olympic cycle for a reason.” Second time around he has guided the team to two Ulster SFC titles while they once again fell to the Kingdom in the 2025 All-Ireland decider. However, the 2026 season was a difficult one for the group. Having looked the part on their way to a spectacular NFL Division 1 final win over arch-rivals Kerry, Down would then cause a huge provincial championship upset when they dumped the Anglo-Celt Cup holders out of the provincial running in Letterkenny. Donegal seemed to regroup, though, and an emphatic All-Ireland series win over champions Kerry in Killarney suggested they were back on track. But subsequent losses to Cork in Ballybofey and Dublin in the All-Ireland quarter-final at Croke Park brought a disappointing curtain down on their campaign earlier than expected. It’s understood that McGuinness also intends to bolster his backroom team and details on any potential shake-up or, indeed, comings and goings are expected to be confirmed by the manager and the Donegal board in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, The Irish News has also learned that Gary Boyle and Shay Murrin will be back in the Donegal U-20 dugout for 2027. It will be the Naomh Muire and Killybegs men’s third season at the helm. In their first term in charge back in 2025 they were just about squeezed out by Tyrone in the Ulster final, 2-14 to 1-19. To compound Donegal’s misery, the Red Hands would go on to once again lift the All-Ireland crown at that level. The sides renewed acquaintances in the Ulster semi-finals this season but on a wasteful night in front of the posts for the hosts in Convoy it was Tyrone that advanced, 0-12 to 0-8. Tyrone would again reach the All-Ireland decider but would come up short against Kerry in Croke Park.