Miami Marlins' desired managerial style changes again

The Miami Marlins decided that after 38 games of the 2015 season, the more laid-back approach of Mike Redmond simply was not working. In fact, owner Jeffrey Loria commented that the Marlins "looked lifeless" under Redmond, just a few months after Loria mentioned how Redmond was the "perfect leader" for this team.

Never mind the incongruity of these two statements and how a small sample of less than a quarter of a season was enough to change his mind (more on that later). The Marlins are moving on to former general manager Dan Jennings in the dugout for now, but barring a great comeback for the Fish this season and playoff contention at the end of the year, it seems unlikely that Jennings is anything but a temporary measure. The Marlins are likely going to try and find a more permanent solution at manager at the end of the season, much like they did at the end of the 2011 season.

That year, the Marlins replaced the resigning Edwin Rodriguez, a soft-spoken player's manager whom they signed to a lame-duck one-year contract after a reasonable 2010 performance, with Ozzie Guillen. Guillen, of course, was well-known as a loudmouth, boisterous manager who could get under his players' skins, intimidate them, or light a fire under them, depending on who you ask. He was seen as the perfect choice for a team looking to make a splash in 2012 with a revamped roster.

We saw how that turned out. Guillen ran his mouth about Fidel Castro before the season began, immediately causing turmoil and consideration for firing. He got into some heated arguments with Heath Bell, who threw his manager under the bus in retaliation. However, despite the losing season (helped along by a trade deadline sale of key parts), Guillen seemingly held the respect of the players and the clubhouse. But because of the losses, it was already too late, and Loria chose to move on.

He did so by hiring Redmond, a more soft-spoken backup catcher with less experience. At the time, it was said that Redmond, having previously worked in Low-A Dunedin for the Toronto Blue Jays, would be a good choice to nurture a new, young cast after the Blue Jays fire sale trade. Maybe you could justify replacing the cantankerous Guillen with the more catering Red with the team moving to a young core. However, it seemed that, despite rumors to the contrary, the Marlins likely wanted to switch from the adversarial, angry manager to a more "player's coach."

Flash forward a few years later and another coaching contract extension gone wrong and it would seem as though the Fish are looking for that angry spark again. From USA Today's Bob Nightengale:

"People like to say this is controversial, different, outside the box,'' Loria said in a telephone interview with USA TODAY Sports. "I can't think of anyone better suited for this job than him. There was a tremendous lack of energy and fire in that clubhouse and dugout. We needed to bring some life in there.

"We needed more accountability, more energy, more fire, more communication, and Dan fills all of those roles.''

Those words like "fire" and "energy" point towards the Marlins swinging from the pendulum once again, desiring a hotheaded coach who will get in the grill of players and umpires alike.

Rest assured, however, that when the next fiery manager is eventually brought in and the team under his leadership begins to struggle, whether those struggles are real, perceived, or temporary, the ownership will seek out another guy in the mold of Redmond sooner rather than later. Part of it is just the way the managerial merry-go-round goes, as teams switch from managerial styles back and forth. However, these switches often occur after years of relative stability on the job and often times not on the spur of the moment. Since Giancarlo Stanton has been a Marlin, he has had to endure a switch in clubhouse personalities and leadership styles as much five times in parts of six big-league seasons.

Loria and the Marlins know that they want to win. However, they seem to have very little knowledge as to how they want to go about winning. They cycle through team styles, managers, and players in an attempt to find a winning formula. It seems almost inevitable that it will happen again and that the Marlins will desire a guy just like Redmond to run their roster. Perhaps this will happen as soon as 2017, when Redmond was scheduled to finish up his current contract extension.