As the Marlins continue to look for their next manager, the club has lined up an interview with Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough about the position, Isaac Azout of Fish On First reports (via X). McCullough becomes the second candidate known to formally interview with Miami, after Tigers bench coach George Lombard.
This isn’t the first link between McCullough and the Marlins, as the team also interviewed him in their last managerial search two years ago, before Skip Schumaker was hired. Schumaker’s two-season tenure saw the team reach the postseason in 2023, yet owner Bruce Sherman’s desire to focus on the farm system led to former GM Kim Ng leaving the organization last offseason, and the subsequent hiring of Peter Bendix as the new president of baseball operations put the Marlins back into rebuild mode. As was widely expected, Schumaker also parted ways with the Marlins after this season, leaving the club once again in search of a new bench boss.
Though McCullough is now speaking with a new Miami front office, he’ll have a familiar face on hand in Marlins assistant GM Gabe Kapler. McCullough and Kapler worked together with the Dodgers when McCullough was the team’s minor league field coordinator and Kapler the director of player development, before Kapler left Los Angeles to become the Phillies’ manager in the 2017-18 offseason. Following stints managing both the Phillies and Giants, Kapler was hired by Bendix as Miami’s assistant GM last December.
Beyond the Marlins’ search in 2022, McCullough has been a candidate for several other managerial openings in recent years. Most immediately, he has been linked to the White Sox and their current vacancy, which puts even more on McCullough’s plate as he is preparing for interviews as well as helping the Dodgers get ready for the World Series. The Mets, Brewers, Guardians, and Royals all had McCullough under consideration for managerial jobs, and McCullough was reportedly a finalist in Kansas City before the team hired Matt Quatraro.
The 44-year-old McCullough has been the Dodgers’ first base coach for the last four seasons, after working as the minor league field coordinator since 2015. While McCullough doesn’t have any managerial experience at the MLB level, he did manage at multiple levels of the Blue Jays’ farm system during the 2007-14 seasons, as he turned to coaching soon after his minor league playing career ended in 2005.
Lombard, Giants assistant coach Alyssa Nakken, Guardians bench coach Craig Albernaz and former Marlins bench coach Luis Urueta are the other candidates reportedly on Miami’s radar. It isn’t known how close the Marlins could be to making an actual hire, though it is possible that their search could be somewhat complicated by the Dodgers’ lengthy playoff run, if they’ve been waiting to speak with McCullough.