Current Marlins GM Dan Jennings could become their next manager, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets. Heyman further notes that Ivan Rodriguez does not currently appear to be a candidate.
Heyman previously reported that the Marlins’ managerial choice would be “outside the box,” and Jennings would be an outside-the-box choice indeed. He coached high school baseball in Alabama before becoming a scout in the 1980s. He has since worked in a variety of scouting and front office roles and does not seem to have coached since then, having joined the Marlins front office in 2002.
There would be limited recent precedent for a team hiring its own GM as manager, particularly when that GM does not have experience in that role. (It is unclear whether Jennings would continue to serve as the Marlins’ GM if he were made manager, a possibility Heyman mentions; there would be similarly little recent precedent for such an arrangement.) One could also note an irony in Jennings replacing Mike Redmond as manager, given that Jennings himself bears responsibility for some of the player personnel moves that have led to the Marlins’ disappointing start this season, such as his trade for Mat Latos and signing of Michael Morse.
Jennings does, however, seem to have the ear of Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, who promoted Jennings when he fired president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest late in the 2013 season. Jennings’ hire as manager would also be consistent with Joe Frisaro of MLB.com’s recent tweet indicating that the Marlins’ new manager would be a surprising hire from within the organization.
This just feels like a circus that only Loria could orchestrate.
Exactly. All that’s missing is to have a clown car pull onto the field with the entire starting line up inside
This makes no sense. Wouldn’t this technically be a demotion for Jennings?
Bobby Cox was the Braves GM from 1985-1990 and made himself the manager during 1990. It’s not unheard of.
Difference was Cox managed more than HS ball.
But Cox had managerial experience while Jennings does not.
But Cox had managed for 8 full seasons in the majors before he became GM – and had been successful at it. Big difference.
This sort of thing happens in the NHL and the NBA all the time.
Gardenhire is sitting home waiting…
He’s still getting paid by the Twins and has the luxury of waiting for the right opportunity. He’s not hard up enough to take on this mess. If he gets a call from a Miami area code he won’t even answer it. Mike Redmond was a friend of his and he and Ozzie Guillen have a strange, but friendly relationship.
so if MIA underpreforms can he fire himself ?
By the end of the night, that hideous statue in center field will be filling out tomorrow’s line-up card.
This is pretty much the worst idea I have ever heard, so it’s probably true.
This is just strange. The only thing that would make this weirder would be Stanton exercising his opt-out clause later tonight.
How does Dan Jennings feel about Castro?
He currently has no plans to trade for Starlin.
But would he want to manage him is the question now?
Next it’ll be Loria’s imaginary friend the favorite for the job
Marlins fans deserve better than this. Absolute ridiculous idea to entertain.
Bobby Cox was the Braves GM before becoming the manager, and that worked out pretty well. I’m not saying this is going to work out, but it isn’t unprecedented.
The major difference is that Bobby Cox had prior major league managing experience with Toronto only a few years earlier instead managing a high school team 25 years earlier.
Cox had managed before, though.
Do a fan of the night contest and winner gets to coach for a game and if they win, u get to coach the next game too. Still better plan then letting the GM coach.
i like it!!
Might as well let Giancarlo be player/manager… Highest paid manager in the game!
So you have Ron Washington Ron gardenhire dusty baker
Dusty Baker is a real great idea! Fernandez will throw 145 pitches in his first start back. Dusty Baker is the worst possible choice. He’ll blow out that whole rotation’s pitching arms.
Dusty Baker or Bobby Valentine might be desperate enough. There aren’t many other experienced manages that would even talk to the Marlins.
Dusty Baker?? Goodness, gracious, no!
Jack McKeon!!!!
He’s 84. Although in fairness, Connie Mack was 87.
This is a joke on so many levels.
Since nothing has happened as of yet, what everyone is so disgusted about are rumors.
Take a step back…..
This team was supposed to contend for a playoff spot. Lots of player moves were made to assure that. It’s 6 weeks into the season, the team is in 4th place in the NLE, 6 games below .500, 3-7 in the past 10 games, and just got swept by a team that entered a rebuilding phase last off-season. At what point does the team no longer have time to make some moves to get back to being a legitimate playoff contender? Apparently they’ve made the decision that it’s not the players on the roster. So they canned the manager. Maybe a change there will work, maybe not. But for sure Marlins fans would be complaining in another month or two if the W/L situation stayed the same and nothing had been done.
What are these “Marlins fans” you speak of?
That’s some OOTP Baseball shenanigans right there.
So if Jennings comes out there with the ‘HOOK’, the pitcher is not only out of the game, he is off the team as well?
In all seriousness and especially with relieving the bench coach of his duty, I can’t see a GM doing the job. I really can’t.
Looks like Heyman is confirming it. Jennings for manager…weird times ahead!
There are coaches in the NBA who haven’t played basketball at a high level and have over the years have become pretty good head coaches in the NBA (Gregg Popovich, Flip Saunders, Stan Van Gundy). I wonder if this move would benefit the Marlins down the road and perhaps propel Jennings to become a decent manager. If this hire goes through.
I’d probably go with some of the in-house possibilities like Conine, Dawson and possibly Pudge Rodriguez despite no managerial experience. That’s common place in any of the major sports these days and in some cases, it works out pretty well. However if they’re looking for someone experienced, here are some ideas…
Ron Roenicke
Eric Wedge
Manny Mota
Willie Randolph
Rick Renteria
Tony Pena
So, a team that has invested in trying to win NOW is taking a chance on a rookie manager?
Got it!
Hire Brett Butler and get some fire on this team.
Yes, all the Marlins need is fire and the will to win!
Once they have those two components they cannot lose!
Juan C. Rodriguez ✔@JCRMarlinsbeat
Jennings: “Even my mom, who I love, she asked me, ‘Are you crazy? Have you lost your mind?’ ”
8:17 AM – 18 May 2015
I thought Jennings had a great offseason with the acquisitions of Latos, Morse and Prado. Ultimately it’s up to the players to make the GM look good and in the case of Latos and Morse it’s been just the opposite but it’s still early and these are proven guys. If he feels part of the problem in they aren’t responding to Redmond’s leadership style, and he thinks he can do better, well go for it. Yelich’s fall off has been stunning.