Choose Wisely: White Sox Must Grant Next Manager Coaching Staff Autonomy

I know, I know a lot of you have Chicago White Sox fatigue and are trying to forget about what we experienced throughout the 2024 season. There are those of us like myself who are gluttons for punishment and can't help but have our mental wheels turning about how to fix this mess the Sox are currently in.

I recently took a look at the changes happening within the international scouting department , ones desperately needed for some time as the club is so far behind the rest of the league in that area. Hopefully that's a recognition and self-awareness within the organization that the status quo just isn't working for a franchise that has been one of the worst in the sport for over a decade.

The restructuring of the international scouting department is something most fans don't pay a great deal of attention to because — let's be real — it's something that isn't seen daily. If we're talking about the scouting and acquisition of teenage players from Latin American countries, many of whom will never see the corner of 35th/Shields, it takes the most ardent fans to be up-to-speed on their signing and development through the White Sox system.

So, for most fans, the most pressing issue at hand will be the search for the team's permanent manager. Grady Sizemore took over on an interim basis following the dismissal of Pedro Grifol in early August. At the time, general manager Chris Getz stated that the Sox would go through an extensive search to find their next manager. One criterion Getz indicated he was looking for was someone who has recent experience in the dugout. That seemingly eliminated Sizemore from future discussions about taking the role permanently, but is that really the case?

Whether Sizemore eventually has the interim tag removed from his title or not is somewhat immaterial though. With the Cincinnati Reds' recent hiring of Terry Francona, many White Sox fans have lamented the team passing on a future Hall of Fame skipper to lead the club. Several months ago, I cast doubt on the idea of Francona or any manager with any modicum of credibility taking the role. I posited that the team would need to look to someone such as fan favorite A.J. Pierzynski or first-time candidates to fill the role given the dire straights the organization currently resides in and will for the next few seasons.

Wiping the Slate Clean

Whether the White Sox choose Grady Sizemore or an external candidate to sit in the manager's chair starting next year, there's one thing I believe that person should be allowed to do. The Sox' next manager should be allowed to choose their staff.

For too long, this organization has thrust coaches on new managers in a rather baffling fashion. Don Cooper and Darryl Boston were able to survive multiple managerial administrations and seemingly be grandfathered into their roles regardless of who was filling out the lineup card. Even Tony La Russa had Ethan Katz thrust upon him before he was officially announced as the team's manager following the 2020 season. It's entirely possible that La Russa knew of the decision and was on board with it, but in classic White Sox fashion, things didn't seem to line up.

Let me be clear, I'm not saying the team must completely wipe out its entire coaching staff and start from scratch in 2025. One can make a compelling argument that it's needed, but I'd allow the next manager to have conversations with the incumbents and determine their respective fate. If the new manager believes his vision is properly aligned with current members of the coaching staff and that they can work cohesively, he should be allowed to retain those individuals. However, if he doesn't feel he's aligned with current members of the staff, he shouldn't be saddled with them just because they're already here.

This is a bizarre operating practice that the White Sox have had for far too long, and if Chris Getz is truly different (as he's told us on multiple occasions), he should trust his field manager to surround himself with his people. That isn't to say that the front office shouldn't have input into who comprises the coaching staff, but ultimately the manager should be given the final say.

So, if Sizemore or an outside choice doesn't believe Katz is the right guy to be his pitching coach, he should be allowed to make a change. I know much has been made of the relationship between my guy Brian Bannister and Katz, but surely Bannister has developed other relationships across the game from his time in various organizations that he'd have other individuals he could work in tandem with to continue overhauling the Sox' pitching infrastructure.

Forcing a coaching staff on a manager, whether a first-timer or someone with previous experience, is simply a faulty business practice, particularly for an organization that's been so short on success in recent years. There isn't much I can point to with any member of this coaching staff that would warrant them having the level of job security that typically comes from being employed by the White Sox, so everyone should be on notice, in my opinion. The fact is, this organization is so far behind the rest of the league in just about every facet that those currently on the payroll are more apt to be part of the problem than the solution.

If Getz is going to entrust someone to manage this team for the next three years, which is the standard White Sox managerial contract at this point, he should trust that person to surround himself with people he believes in and people who will help move this team closer to respectability, at least. There have been some recent acknowledgments by the organization that its standard operating procedures aren't working; hopefully this is another one being thoroughly reviewed.

Most Sox fans are clamoring for the team to wash away any stains from the Pedro Grifol era, or even the Kenny Williams/Rick Hahn regime as a whole, to bring about a new chapter on the South Side. While I certainly understand the sentiment and can agree with it to a large extent, I do submit to the possibility that there could be current members of uniform personnel who are qualified to hold onto their positions. But I want whoever has the future win/loss record tied to their name to make that decision. Naturally, there will be a collaboration with the front office, but the open-ended White Sox coaching contract needs to be a thing of the past.

If the White Sox really want to change the culture of the team at all levels, they have to allow the leader at the field level to instill his culture. He shouldn't be forced into having holdovers that he doesn't want. This organization does a lot of things wrong, as we all know. Here's hoping that recent admissions of failure don't stop with the international scouting department and find their way to processes and personnel in the dugout at the corner of 35th/Shields.

Related: Needed Restructuring: White Sox Dump Several International Scouts

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