Dodgers coaching staff told they are free to look elsewhere for jobs

LOS ANGELES -- We are still in the early stages of this process, but with Don Mattingly out as manager by mutual agreement, the bulk of the coaching staff could be overhauled as well.

"We talked to them this morning. Obviously we wish that we had more answers to provide but we don't. This process is just getting underway," Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said on Thursday. "We told them they are free to look elsewhere."

Friedman said the contracts for the entire coaching staff expired at the end of the season, and that the new Dodgers manager will have a lot of input in the coaching staff.

"To the extent that something lines up for [current Dodgers coaches] and their family, we understand," Friedman said. "To the extent that they're still available when we hire a manager, that will be a conversation we'll have with the new manager at that time."

Rick Honeycutt has been the pitching coach for 10 years, Mark McGwire the hitting coach for five years. Davey Lopes has been first base coach for five years, and Tim Wallach has been on the staff for five years, including the last two as bench coach, to name a few on the staff. Wallach has reportedly interviewed for the vacant Nationals job.

Friedman said having managerial experience wouldn't necessarily be a factor in picking the Dodgers' next manager, someone he expects to have in place "definitely" by the winter meetings from Dec. 7-10 in Nashville.

"We'll have candidates who have managerial experience and others who don't. For us to cast as wide as a net as we want to, we're going to go into it with an open mind," Friedman said. "Different guys have different skill sets, and we're going to keep an open mind about who is the best fit. Whatever we perceive to not be that person's strengths we'll look to fill that out around him, and figure out ways to help make [the staff] as well rounded as possible."

Neither Friedman nor general manager Farhan Zaidi would mention any specific managerial candidates, saying it was still early in the process.

[All quotes per press conference as shown on SportsNet LA]