Inside The Cubs

Chicago Cubs Coach Emerging as Candidate for Guardians Manager Job

The Cleveland Guardians have yet to name a replacement for Terry Francona, since the longtime manager's retirement. One Chicago Cubs coach has interviewed for the job.

Jack Vita

Chicago Cubs Coach Emerging as Candidate for Guardians Manager Job
Chicago Cubs Coach Emerging as Candidate for Guardians Manager Job /
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The recent retirement of longtime manager Terry Francona has left an opening for the Cleveland Guardians.

Nearly a month after his announcement, the team is still without a manager. It appears they're making progress towards finding their next skipper, though.

Beat writer Zack Meisel, who covers the team for The Athletic, is reporting that the following men are receiving consideration to succeed Francona: New York Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza, Seattle Mariners staffer Stephen Vogt, Los Angeles Dodgers first base coach Clayton McDonald and Guardians coaches John McDonald and Chris Valaika.

One member of David Ross' coaching staff is emerging as a potential candidate as well, according to The Athletic. They're reporting that Chicago Cubs bench coach Andy Green has interviewed for the Cleveland managerial job.

Green enjoyed a multi-year professional career, playing for the Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Mets and the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan. He also managed the San Diego Padres from 2016 through 2019.

Green joined the Cubs' coaching staff at the same time that manager David Ross did, upon the conclusion of the 2019 season. Two months after the club announced Ross had been hired as manager, Chicago made Green their bench coach, a position he's held for the last four seasons.

If Green were to depart for his second managerial job, it would create an opening for the Cubs, as they would soon be in need of a new bench coach. It remains unclear who would take on that role, if there is in fact a need.

The Cubs exceeded expectations in 2023, posting their first winning season since 2020, racking up 83 wins.

The club was in pole position for a playoff berth, before faltering in the final weeks of the season. They finished just one game behind the Diamondbacks for the third and final National League Wild Card. Tuesday night, Arizona defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS, securing their first NL Pennant since 2001.

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Jack Vita
JACK VITA

Jack Vita is a writer and contributor to Sports Illustrated's Inside the Cubs, and host of the Jack Vita Show, a popular sports podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and wherever podcasts are found. Jack is a 2017 graduate of Valparaiso University, in northwest Indiana. Since completing his degree, Jack has created his own independent sports media outlet (JackVita.com) and podcast (the Jack Vita Show). He has featured prominent guests from the worlds of sports and entertainment including Brian Urlacher, Scot Pollard, Bob Nightengale, Dan O'Dowd, and Survivor icons Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Cirie Fields, Danni Boatwright and "the Dragon Slayer", Coach Benjamin Wade. While studying at Valparaiso, Jack was the school newspaper's beat writer for the Valpo Crusaders men's basketball team, which won three straight Horizon League championships from 2015-2017. Traveling to cover the team, Jack had a front row seat to one of the nation's best mid-major teams, headlined by future NBA Draft pick Alec Peters and coached by NCAA Tournament hero Bryce Drew. Jack hosted a weekly sports radio show and provided play-by-play and color commentary services for ESPN 3 and the university's student radio station, WVUR-FM, 95.1 The Source, covering Valparaiso men's soccer, women's basketball, softball and volleyball. Jack also covered these sports, in addition to men's and women's tennis, baseball and women's soccer for the school newspaper, The Torch. While he was in college, Jack interned for and co-hosted Jewell On Sports, a sports radio program on AM 1050 WLIP in Kenosha, Wisconsin. There, he interviewed various pro athletes such as Ahman Green, Javon Walker and Javier Arenas, in addition to talking sports with the late, great Brad Jewell. Jack also interned for 22nd Century Media, a now defunct newspaper corporation that provided news to the North Shore of Chicago. With 22nd Century Media, Jack wrote post-game recaps, feature stories about local athletes, reviews of local restaurants and compiled the newspaper's "Pet of the Week" and "Athlete of the Week" sections, while providing copy-editing services. Before attending Valparaiso, Jack enrolled at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he studied for two years before transferring. He is a high school graduate of New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Illinois. You can follow Jack on Twitter @JackVitaShow, subscribe to his podcast, the Jack Vita Show, wherever podcasts are found, and reach him via email at jack@jackvita.com.

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