The Miami Marlins are interviewing former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly for their open manager spot.
Jeffery Loria has a very specific model in mind with his Miami Marlins looking for a new manager. He wants an old-school, hard-nosed guy to lead his young team to the promised land and there is one particular candidate on the docket that fits right into that mold.
The Marlins are scheduled to interview former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly on Monday, per Joe Frisaro of MLB.com.
Source: Don Mattingly is interviewing with #Marlins today
— Joe Frisaro (@JoeFrisaro) October 26, 2015
Miami’s interest in Mattingly has been long-rumored, with the Marlins staying on the peripheral while they awaited the Dodgers’ decision on whether or not they would bring Mattingly back for the 2016 season. However, with the two sides agreeing to part ways last week, Miami appears ready to make their move and reel in the former Yankee masher.
Mattingly enjoyed his fair share of success at the helm of Dodgers. In five seasons with the club he owned a record of 446-363, leading the Dodgers to three consecutive division crowns in the National League West. However, the Dodgers have been unable to get out of the Divisional round of the playoffs in either of the last two seasons. Given the payroll commitments the ownership group has made to winning, the Dodgers obviously wanted a change at the top to get to the next step.
However, one man’s trash can sometimes be another man’s treasure. While Dodgers ownership was said to want someone a little less abrasive to their many interesting personalities in Los Angeles, the Marlins appear to want to embrace Mattingly’s old-school charm and hope that it helps to mold a young core that includes Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna, Jose Fernandez, Christian Yelich, and others.
Of course, the biggest hurdle here is how well Mattingly can get along with Marlins owner Jeffery Loria. Loria is famous for his short leash with managers, and even fired current Yankees manager Joe Girardi after just one season despite having won the National League Manager of the Year award.
In all, the Marlins have employed nine separate managers since winning the World Series in 2003. Only four of those men lasted multiple seasons in the role. Mattingly will undoubtedly want assurances that he will be given the time to develop a rapport and a winning culture in Miami if he takes the job. Given the limited payroll structure for the team, it is the least that Loria can promise him moving forward.