Brewers: 7 Manager Candidates To Take Over Now That Craig Counsell Is Gone

Craig Counsell is gone. It's a shocking development that leaves the Brewers in search of a manager for the first time since they fired Ken Macha in 2010 and hired Ron Roenicke. When Roenicke was fired in 2015, Counsell was immediately installed as the permanent manager.

Now the Brewers are left with a vacancy in the manager's spot and they're a little late to the party in terms of interviewing candidates. Stephen Vogt has been hired by the Cleveland Guardians, Carlos Mendoza has been hired by the Mets, and Bob Melvin has gone to the Giants. All the other teams with vacancies are weeks into the interviewing process.

With Craig Counsell now out of the picture, who do the Brewers get to manage their team in 2024? Here are some of the candidates they could pursue, including both internal and external options.

Brewers manager candidate #1 - Bench coach Pat Murphy

Pat Murphy is arguably the top internal candidate for the job. He's been Counsell's right hand man since 2016, is well respected and loved in the Brewers clubhouse, and is deserving of an opportunity as a manager.

Everything you can do as a coach in the game of baseball, Murphy has done it. College coach, minor league manager, big league manager, big league bench coach, you name it. He's as experienced a baseball mind you could find and he's already in the organization. If the Brewers don't find an external candidate to their liking, promoting Murphy from bench coach to manager would be a logical direction.

Murphy may be the choice if the Brewers want to get a new manager named as quickly as possible. If they aren't too interested in looking externally, Murphy could soon be the name. If the process drags on, it could become less and less likely that Murph ends up with the job.

Brewers manager candidate #2 - First base coach Quentin Berry

If the Brewers want to go internal and prefer to go younger at the manager spot, Quentin Berry would be a possibility. He's been on the staff a few years, and again is beloved in the clubhouse.

Berry was an outfielder known for his speed. He was picked up by contending teams to be used as a pinch runner on their playoff rosters. The Brewers were one of those teams that picked him up and they brought him into the coaching ranks after he retired from playing. It's a similar career arc to Craig Counsell, ending his playing career in Milwaukee then staying in the organization in some capacity before being moved into the manager's spot, if Berry is indeed the choice.

Counsell was one of those players that was commonly thought of as a future manager and while there may not have been as many voices saying the same about Berry, that doesn't mean he wouldn't make for a quality manager.

Brewers manager candidate #3 - Former Cubs manager David Ross

This would essentially act as a trade. The Cubs took the Brewers manager and dumped David Ross for Counsell. Perhaps the Brewers could pick up Ross to fill their vacancy. It seems like a trade down for the Brewers, though. Ross wasn't the best manager down in Chicago, but it's not like he was a problem for them.

There were many reasons the Cubs fell short of their goals with Ross at the helm and while there were complaints about his managerial style, it's not like Brewers fans didn't have their complaints about Counsell either.

Ross is an unexpected name on the market now. The Cubs were totally content to keep him as their manager until they found Counsell to be available. He hasn't had any interviews with other teams and now that the Brewers have an opening, he could very well be one of the guys Milwaukee calls as their search ramps up.

Brewers manager candidate #6 - Rangers Associate Manager Will Venable

If you're going to hire a new manager, you might as well get one who just won the World Series. Will Venable has been a manager in waiting seemingly for a few years. He has the new "associate manager" title to Bruce Bochy down in Texas and has interviewed with several teams in recent years.

Venable was a player for the Rangers, which is why he was willing to stick around even after they hired Bruce Bochy to be manager instead of him. Venable may opt to wait until Bochy retires again to take over the Rangers, but he could instead look elsewhere to get out of Bochy's shadow and have full control over his team.

Venable is quite intelligent, a Princeton grad, and fits the mold of a modern, young, analytically inclined manager with a good feel for the game given his history as a player.

Brewers manager candidate #7 - Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough

The last time the Brewers did a full search for their manager job, it took them to southern California, hiring Ron Roenicke from the Los Angeles Angels. Perhaps they'll go back to Los Angeles again, but take from the Dodgers this time with Clayton McCullough.

McCullough has been a manager in the minor leagues with the Blue Jays for a number of years and has made the move up to the big league coaching staff with the Dodgers. He's also been a hot name in managing circles in recent years.

McCullough has reportedly "earned praise" for his work with younger players, which may make him the perfect candidate for the Brewers. Milwaukee has a ton of young players on their roster and more will be coming. The Freshmen debuted this year, including Garrett Mitchell, Sal Frelick, Joey Wiemer, and Brice Turang, and all of them fell a bit short of expectations, especially offensively. More rookies are coming next year with Tyler Black, Jackson Chourio, Robert Gasser, and Carlos Rodriguez, likely Jacob Misiorowski, and many more.

The Brewers are transitioning roster cores right now. Corbin Burnes, Willy Adames, and likely Brandon Woodruff will be on their way out and the farm system is going to have to keep this team competitive year in and year out. McCullough's ability to work with young players would make him an ideal option for Milwaukee to stay competitive moving forward.