The Tyrone team of the mid-eighties included McGuigan, Eugene McKenna, Plunkett Donaghy and John Lynch, winning a fourth Ulster SFC title in 1984, and in 1986, reaching a first ever final of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC), where Kerry defeated it by a scoreline of 2–15 to 1–10.

The following year Tyrone had its turn at being Ulster champions and, in keeping with the recent form of the winners of that competition, reached the 1995 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final (only the county's second ever).

However, the county fell at the 1996 All-Ireland SFC semi-final stage to a Meath team "who bullied them in a way that left the losers with a reputation for softness", according to one commentator.

[4] Tyrone won against Fermanagh in the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final, before overcoming Kerry in the semi-final by a scoreline of 0–13 to 0–6.

Canavan limped off injured early in that game and television expert Pat Spillane deemed Tyrone's approach during the second half of the semi-final to be "puke football".

[4] Tyrone played five matches in the Ulster SFC, including replays against Cavan in the semi-final and against Armagh in the final, which they lost.

That replay was later described by one commentator as "perhaps the most mean-spirited match played since Dublin–Galway's 1983 All-Ireland final meeting and seemed to confirm the widespread idea that the game was tending towards a zero point of cynicism and negativity".

[4] In the All-Ireland SFC semi-final, the county met Armagh for a third time; two points behind with only six minutes of play left, Seán Cavanagh scored a solo point, substitute Shane Sweeney levelled the game and Peter Canavan converted an injury-time free.

In the 2005 All-Ireland SFC final, the county defeated Kerry for the second time in three years to win the Sam Maguire Cup, sparking emotional scenes among the Tyrone team and fans, in remembrance of Cormac McAnallen.

[4] The team advanced to the All-Ireland SFC semi-final against Wexford but did not impress against the Strawberries, appearing in at that stage for the first time since 1945.

[4] Tyrone did enough though, but entered 2008 All-Ireland SFC final against a Kerry team then bidding to win three consecutive titles.

Justin McMahon dealt with Kerry's new weapon, Kieran Donaghy, while the half-back line of David Harte, Conor Gormley and Philip Jordan outperformed expectations from outside the county and Cavanagh scored five points from play.

[9][10] Like Harte's appointment, the Dooher and Logan managerial ticket was immediately successful, with the team winning an unexpected 2021 All-Ireland SFC in its first year.

Dooher became the fifth manager to win an All-Ireland SFC after earlier captaining his county to victory in the same competition (and the first since Páidí Ó Sé in 1997).