April 28, 2026
Dale Zanine/Imagn Images
Don Mattingly said he didn't want to be a manager again. So much for that.
Don Mattingly is exactly where he never wanted to be – managing a baseball team again.
And on top of that, he's doing in a big market, with enormous expectations, and with an underperforming Phillies roster that just got his buddy, Rob Thomson, canned 28 games into the 2026 season thanks to a 9-19 record.
It'll take a ton of energy, leadership and strategizing for Mattingly to coax these Phillies out of the doldrums and back to the postseason – and that's exactly what the 65-year-old Mattingly had said as recently as eight weeks ago that he wasn't built for anymore.
In a sit-down interview with WIP during spring training, the then-Phillies bench coach didn't mince words when discussing his potential to manage again.
He has already managed the Dodgers from 2011-2015 and the Marlins from 2016-2022. He sounded as if he had enough of being "the man."
"I definitely don't see myself managing," the Yankees legend said. "I don't think I have the energy for that honestly at this age. It's an energy level that I don't really feel like taking on that challenge."
Here's the full clip, from WIP:
Phillies Bench Coach Don Mattingly doesn't think he'll manage ever again:
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) March 4, 2026
"I definitely don't see myself managing again. I don't think I have the energy for that, honestly, at this age." pic.twitter.com/5dHb3DzgtM
In the video, Mattingly talked about the intense labor of the offseason, so even if he can reverse the Phillies' fortune and get the two-time defending National League East champs back to the postseason, it remains to been if he'd even be interested in staying on as manager if that's what the club wanted.
Mattingly wasn't even the team's first replacement option for Thomson, who was fired Tuesday despite a .568 winning percentage and taking the Phils to the playoffs for four consecutive seasons, including a trip to the World Series after taking over for a fired Joe Girardi in 2022.
The Phils offered the job to Alex Cora, who earlier this week was fired as manager of the Red Sox, but Cora declined, per USA Today's MLB Insider Bob Nightengale:
Alex Cora was offered the Philadelphia Phillies' managerial job before Don Mattingly, but declined.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) April 28, 2026
He has decided to spend time with his family.
So now it's up to Mattingly, a former American League MVP, six-time All Star, and an MLB coach for more than two decades, to see it through for 2026.
"Donnie Baseball," who had one of the game's sweetest left-handed strokes during his Yankee heyday, had already decided at the end of last season to leave the Blue Jays. He had been bench coach in Toronto for three seasons but his contract was up and Mattingly had said he wanted to spend more time with his family.
Perhaps coincidentally, Thomson had said in season-ending press conference last October that he would be seeking a more experienced bench coach after the Phillies had been eliminated in the NLDS by the eventual World Series champion Dodgers in four games, a series rife with questionable strategic managerial decisions.
The Phils in January hired Mattingly, who's son Preston had already been working in the Phillies' front office since 2021 and was promoted in November to general manager.
So, technically, Don Mattingly has been spending more time with some of his family. Will that factor into his decision to keep managing beyond 2026 if the Phillies want him back?
Maybe he'll change his mind, especially if he can duplicate the success Thomson had after taking over for Girardi, or maybe the Phillies, who have one of baseball's highest payrolls, will look elsewhere.
Perhaps by the offseason, Cora will be ready to manage again. He would surely be atop the list.
Other managers on the market who've had various levels of success are four-time World Series champion Bruce Bochy, four-time Manager of the Year Buck Showalter and two-time ring winner Joe Maddon, a native of Hazleton, Pa.
The ties between Cora and Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski are strong. Dombrowski was president of baseball operations for the Red Sox when in 2017 he hired Alex Cora as Boston's next manager. In 2018, the Red Sox won the World Series.
SIGN UP HERE to receive PhillyVoice's Sports newsletters.
Follow Geoff on Twitter/X: @geoffpmosher
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
