One of the challenges that teams who play deep into the postseason face is that some of the top assistants on their coaching staffs often get poached by downtrodden teams looking to change their fortunes.
After the Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl LII, offensive coordinator Frank Reich left to become the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. A key figure in getting some of the best play out of both Carson Wentz and Nick Foles, Reich’s presence was never really replaced effectively in the remaining years of Doug Pederson’s tenure.
As the Philadelphia Phillies improbable postseason run continues, two of the assistants on Rob Thomson’s staff — third base coach Dusty Wathan and hitting coach Kevin Long — are garnering interest from teams looking to fill managerial vacancies.
Thomson — who began the season as the bench coach before replacing Joe Girardi in early June — was very complimentary of the job that his whole coaching staff has done as he’s transitioned roles.
“Yeah, really the entire staff means so much to me because they’re all so good,” Thomson said Friday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. “I mean, I’d put our staff up against anybody’s.”
Wathan — according to Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia — has interviewed for the managerial jobs in Kansas City and Miami on the limited off days that the Phillies have had this postseason.
Thomson believes that Wathan is more than ready for his shot to run a team.
“I lean on Dusty a lot because he’s managed so many games in the Minor Leagues,” Thomson said of his third base coach. “He understands the game so well. As I said before, I think this guy should have been managing years ago in the big leagues.”
Wathan nearly got a shot to manage years ago with the Phillies. He was the runner-up to Gabe Kapler when the Phillies held a managerial search before the 2018 season.
Now 49, Wathan is wrapping up his fifth season on the Major League staff with the Phillies. From 2008-2017, Wathan coached at various levels of the minors for the Phillies. He’s the winningest manager in the history of Double-A Reading, and spent a season managing Triple-A Lehigh Valley before joining the Phillies’ staff.
Thomson has a lengthy history with Kevin Long, as they were together on the New York Yankees’ coaching staff from 2008-2014, before being reunited this year.
Of his hitting coach, Thomson praised Long’s ability to motivate players.
“As far as Kevin is concerned, Kevin and I have a longtime relationship, and he just — he’s so good for me because he keeps me grounded, he keeps me balanced. And he’s got so much energy that when the players come to the cage, if they’re tired, by the time they leave the cage, they’re full of energy and they’re ready to go.
“So getting those guys prepared in that way, he’s a genius at it.”
Long, 55, is in his first season as the Phillies hitting coach, following prior stops with both New York franchises and the Washington Nationals. When the Phillies announced the hiring of Long this past offseason, Girardi compared his prowess as a hitting coach to that of Nick Saban’s ability to build a great college football program.
Long was interviewed by the Mets for their managerial vacancy after the 2017 season, before the franchise eventually made the ill-fated decision to hire Mickey Callaway instead.
This time around, the hitting guru is said to be generating buzz “for at least one of the five openings,” per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Two of those spots were filled Friday, as the Texas Rangers hired future Hall of Famer Bruce Bochy and the Toronto Blue Jays removed the interim tag and hired John Schneider on a full-time basis. But in addition to the Royals and Marlins, the Chicago White Sox are also looking for new skippers.
If either Wathan or Long is ultimately hired away, the Phillies will need to replace a key member of their coaching staff. If not, Thomson will have one of the deepest coaching staffs in the league at his disposal in his first full year as the manager.
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