Former Tyrone player Sean Cavanagh has claimed that his former manager's move to Derry is "bizarre" and claims that a poor run of results in the job could turn Harte's new venture sour very quickly.
Harte and Cavanagh won three All-Ireland SFC medals, five Ulster SFC medals, and five All-Stars during Harte’s 18-year Tyrone tenure, but this year, Harte decided to join Derry for the 2024 football campaign.
It's a move that has sent shockwaves around the GAA family, and many people will be watching with keen interest to see how Harte fares with his long-time rival Derry next year.
Cavanagh is one of many who can't seem to wrap their heads around the idea that Harte will oversee Derry. He likened it to former Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson's hypothetical move to rivals Liverpool or Manchester City.
"It's just so bizarre," Cavanagh told RTÉ at the Goal Mile launch this week.
"When the news came out, the first thing I thought of, in terms of longevity, Mickey was with Tyrone since about the mid-90s with the minors and then he left in 2018 or 19. For that 25 or 30 years, he reminded me of Alex Ferguson.
"What way would Alex Ferguson have gone had he managed at Manchester United for 25 years and then gone across to Man City or gone across to Liverpool? The whole idea of it is just very strange, and I still find it difficult to imagine Mickey Harte standing on an opposition sideline to Tyrone.
Tyrone manager Mickey Harte in conversation with Sean Cavanagh ahead of the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Quarter-Final match between Tyrone and Armagh at Croke Park in Dublin. (Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)"He coached me in 2002 with the U21s, so I was with him for 17 or 18 of those years. I knew how passionate he was for Tyrone. Everything was "Tyrone, Tyrone, Tyrone"; nothing else mattered.”
Cavanagh also believes that Derry won't give Harte an easy time of it if results do go south next year. He believes that because Harte is a Glencull native and one of their own, he would be afforded more time to make it right. This won't be as forthcoming with his new Derry gig, believes the former Tyrone player.
"It feels like one of those things that, if it goes wrong, it could go badly wrong. Derry people obviously are not Tyrone people either; you'll always give your own people a bit more grace," he added.
"Going into that sort of pressure cooker, and he's obviously thought it through, but he's going to be under more scrutiny than he has been at any time in his entire career."
However, Cavanagh does believe that despite making the move, Harte must have the belief that he can help Derry to All-Ireland success eventually. It's just the "strangeness" of the move that Cavanagh can't seem to grasp.
"But he must see that opportunity to win Sam. That must be the reason he's gone there for. And fair play to him if that suits him, that's fine," he said.
"It's just the strangeness of coaching against Tyrone. Forget about trophies, forget about players...I could never personally see myself standing with an Armagh top on or a Donegal top and coaching against the team that I still am passionate about. And I know that Mickey was incredibly passionate about Tyrone."
