With Brad Ausmus out the door after just 4 seasons, the Detroit Tigers will not be on the hunt for a new manager. But whatever manage that will be ushered in will have his work cut out for him. For much of the 2017 season, the Tigers have ridden a straight decline, looking more like the Toledo Mudhens at times. Tigers fans will want whoever they hire to come in and win immediately, which looks extremely unlikely at this moment in time with the way our current team looks. In reality, we will need a guy who is willing to take his lumps over the next few years and get a team ready to compete by hopefully 2020. Here is a list of 5 guys that could take over the job for the Tigers after we give Ausmus the boot, some are a little wilder than the others.
1. Jim Leyland
I wanted to start this list off with a completely wacky long shot. I would say this choice would have about half of Tigers fans cringing, with the other half getting very excited. Leyland would make sense to come back to the Tigers seeing as he has spent a decent portion of his career in the Tigers clubhouse. He's a man who has plenty of experience for a ball club littered with the new generation of the Tigers around the corner. On top of that, a lot of his cronies are still in the clubhouse like Gene Lamont and Lloyd McClendon. The only reason Jimmy-Smokes would be very unlikely to come back is that he's retired. I would assume he is much happier sitting on his couch, not having to worry about spring training, a regular season, or anything else that comes with being the manager of a big-league squad. He is also fresh off a World Baseball Classic Title with the USA team, which seems like a great way to go out on top. But also, it might be hard to talk a man out of retirement to a team that might lose 100 games in 2018.
2. Gene Lamont
This is one of the least exciting people I see on this list. Lamont does have eight years of managing experience but he records sits close to .500 lifetime. The man knows what is going on with the Tigers and has been there for a long time which helps his case. I just think that he has been a strictly average third-base coach for us in the past and hasn't shown much that would make Tigers fans believe he could be our saving grace. Al Avila will probably look for Lamont to be the last case scenario hire for these young and rebuilding Tigers.
3. Lloyd McClendon
Of the three candidates on this list that are already in the Tigers organization right now, McClendon seems like the front-runner. He is the only guy between Lamont and Omar Vizquel that has recent managerial experience as he spent two years in Seattle with the Mariners. Although his career record is well below .500, Lloyd McClendon would be a great fit for these Tigers if they can't seem to settle on somebody else. McClendon is a very animated and hardworking manager and I really think he is a guy that the younger guys in the clubhouse could rally around while the older guys could still respect. These are both key factors in any manager hired right now as there is a huge rebuilding process ahead for this Tigers organization.
4. Omar Vizquel
Omar Vizquel has been a great addition to the Tigers staff since coming on in 2013. I think his influence on José Iglesias has been great for his development along with a lot of the young infielders that have come through the Tigers farm system. From day one, you could tell that this hire was just to get Vizquel's feet wet in the world of coaching. A player with such a long, outstanding career like his was destined to coach. It’s just nobody knew whether his first coaching gig would come in Detroit or somewhere else. Vizquel will make a wonderful manager in the Majors and I have no doubt about that, but I think all great things take time. Four years ago, we hired a guy in Ausmus with no managing experience and now in 2017, we're looking for a guy to replace him. If we want to go with the young and energetic route to fire up these young players, it is a no-brainer to go with Omar Vizquel. Like I've said, the only drawback with him is his lack of experience.
5. Ron Gardenhire
This was a guy that should have been looked at harder for the job opening four years ago instead of Ausmus. Gardenhire was fired from the Minnesota Twins in 2014 but he is still very much a competent coach and manager. There have been plenty of games where Gardenhire has bested our Tigers and has done an excellent job for the division rival Twins. The only fault on this choice on Gardenhire is his post-season record, a very lackluster 6-21 with the Twins without a World Series berth as manager. But this really doesn't look like a problem for us right now because the Tigers aren't even a playoff team in the near future. Gardenhire would be a great guy with a fiery passion for his club that could light a flame under these young guys and hopefully help them reach their fullest potential in the upcoming years.