In 33 years, it’s only been Bob Gebhard (1992-99), Dan O’Dowd (1999-2014), Jeff Bridich (2014-21) and Bill Schmidt (2021-25).
That sums up the list of general managers for the Colorado Rockies. With the news that Dick Monfort and Schmidt “mutually decided to part ways”
on Wednesday and Monfort’s stated desire to find “the right leader from outside our organization who can bring a fresh perspective,” who will next take the reins in Colorado?Where the Rockies have been
When it comes to general managers, Gebhard had success helping
the Rockies become the then fastest expansion team to reach the playoffs when Colorado Rockies won the Wild Card in 1995 after their third season. Gebhard had to come from the outside since the Rockies were brand new. He brought front office experience from the Expos and Twins, including when Minnesota won World Series titles in 1987 and 1991.
O’Dowd constructed the team that went on a Rocktober run to the World Series in 2007 and returned to the postseason again in 2009. Before coming to Colorado, O’Dowd worked for front offices in Baltimore and Cleveland.
Bridich only worked for MLB before coming to Colorado in 2004 and climbing the ladder to GM 10 years later. Bridich orchestrated the franchise’s only back-to-back playoff appearances, but stepped down in April of the 2021 season.
Schmidt had the shortest tenure and least success, leaving his successor with three years and $81 million left of Kris Bryant’s contract and a team that lost 119 games. Schmidt had been with the Rockies since 1999, the same year the first BlackBerry phone launched and AOL and Yahoo! were dominating the tech world. The Rockies are finally admitting it’s time for a new voice and new ideas that meet the moment and our times.
The first move in that direction came in June when the Rockies announced that president and chief operating officer Greg Feasel, who had been in the front office since 1995 was retiring at the end of 2025. As a result, Walker Monfort was promoted to executive vice president, a role he will start in January of 2026.
Feasel had taken over the business side of operations after Bridich left in 2021 and continued those duties through Schmidt’s tenure. Walker Monfort will now assume those tasks, meaning Schmidt’s replacement could take the form a GM and director of baseball operations, or a director of baseball ops who then hires a GM.
With the title to be determined, who are some of the leading candidates for the next GM/president of baseball operations?
Thad Levine: The most inside-outside pick
Levine worked for the Rockies under O’Dowd, arguably the Rockies best GM, from 1999-2005 before being assistant GM in Texas and GM and senior VP for Minnesota. Levine is dominating rumors right now as the most logical pick to replace Schmidt. Purple Row’s own Renee Dechert called for Levine — a former Rangers, Twins and Rockies executive — to perform an audit of the team’s operations in June.
Now that there’s an opening atop the front office, Denver Post columnist Troy Renck is pleading for Levine to take over as president of baseball operations, who then has the power to hire a GM, an assistant GM, a scouting director and more analytic specialists.
MLB Trade Rumors is also hinting Levine is in consideration for the job and interested in it. Renck compares Levine to a leader similar to Keli McGregor, someone who is capable of coordinating a development and roster construction philosophy and the communication skills to make it happen.
Matt Kleine: The hot outside pick
MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand has labeled Kleine, Milwaukee’s assistant GM, as an in-demand pick for teams looking to rebuild their front office this offseason. With the Brewers recent success, including finishing as the top seed in the National League this season, Kleine has thrived in America’s Dairyland. One of three assistant GMs in Milwaukee, Kleine has been with the Brewers since 2007 and served as director of baseball operations before moving to assistant GM.
Andy McKay: Another inside-outside pick
McKay served as the peak performance coordinator for Colorado’s minor league system from 2012-15 before heading to Seattle where he rose to vice president and assistant GM prior to the 2025 season. With the Mariners success this season in winning the American League West and earning the No. 2 seed in the AL, McKay is expected to be a popular candidate this offseason. McKay currently works under former Rockies reliever and current Mariners PBO Jerry Dipoto, who also worked as a special assistant to O’Dowd for the Rockies in 2001-02 before his front office career skyrocketed. According to Kevin Henry, McKay drew praise from multiple Rockies, including Jon Gray and Tyler Matzek for his work as the Rockies peak performance coordinator.
Dayton Moore: The turnaround experience pick
When looking at teams that turn 100-loss seasons around for the Rockies to emulate, the Kansas City Royals aren’t a bad guide. Moore worked as a GM and PBO for the Royals starting in 2006 after three straight 100-loss seasons. Sound familiar? The Royals went to the World Series in 2014 and ‘15 under Moore’s guidance. Having also worked in the Braves organization before Kansas City, and with his time as a current senior advisor of baseball operations with the Rangers, Moore would bring a lot of non-Rockies baseball experience.
Jon Daniels: A very distant inside pick
Another organization fans often ask the Rockies to copy is Tampa Bay, where Daniels currently serves as a senior advisor. A former GM and PBO for the Texas Rangers, a position he earned when he was 28 — making him the youngest GM ever at the time — started his front office career as an intern with the Rockies in 2001. After his year with the Rockies, he joined the Rangers, helping lead the team to four AL West titles and two AL Pennants.
Let the search begin
There are insanely competitive people in the baseball world who see the Coors Field job as an exhilarating challenge – a puzzle to be solved that could bring fame and hero status like Theo Epstein saw when he helped the Cubs break an 108-year curse. At the same time, it could be hard to work for an owner like Dick Monfort, who has been resistant to new ideas and seems to hire “yes men” instead of people who might disagree with him or innovate. Renck, probably like most Rockies fans, is calling for the elder Monfort to step back and give autonomy to the next GM.
With the search underway, hopefully, the Rockies can fight the urge to do things the “Rockies Way,” which has led to three straight 100-plus loss seasons, and, instead, try to find the right person to discover a new way to win in Colorado.
Do you have other ideas for candidates the Rockies should pursue? Let us know in the comments!
Long-time Rockies beat writer Kevin Henry gives his take, along with the benefits and drawbacks, for three possible GMs for the Rockies.
Bill Schmidt says despite record, the Rockies have good young nucleus to build around | 9News
Kudos to the 9News team for connecting with Schmidt after he was let go from the Rockies. In the middle of a road trip, Schmidt admitted he didn’t win enough and also said he still believes there are good people and players in the organization. He also gives some advice to his replacement.
McMahon flips into dugout for unreal catch | MLB.com
Former Rockie Ryan McMahon started Game 2 when the Yankees beat the Red Sox on Wednesday, but wasn’t in the starting lineup for the decisive Game 3 on Thursday. He still made his limited playing time count when he entered the game late as a defensive substitution and made an outstanding grab in foul territory in the eighth inning.
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