Rockies will consider internal and external managerial options to replace Walt Weiss

The Colorado Rockies are still early in the process of finding the successor to former manager Walt Weiss, who stepped down from his position Monday morning. But there isn't anything holding general manager Jeff Bridich back from finding the exact person he wants to fill Weiss' shoes.

Ownership hasn't placed any constraints or marching orders on the upcoming search, which will include both external and internal candidates, Bridich told reporters on Monday.

"I imagine that we'll look at multiple avenues," Bridich said. How soon the Rockies will do that is yet to be determined.

"There is no specific timeline right now, with all of this happening over the last 24 to 48 hours."

Shortly after the club announced the managerial vacancy, multiple reports surfaced that suggested Weiss stepped aside due to an "unproductive" and "unhealthy" working relationship with the front office. Bridich did not say anything to the contrary.

"I agree with Walt. I think it was time to move on," Bridich said. "Over the course of two years, we both put in a lot of work to try to make the relationship work. I'm proud of that."

Weiss took over for Jim Tracy prior to the 2013 season after having no previous big league managing experience. Weiss served as a longtime special assistant to the previous GM, Dan O'Dowd, and spent considerable time playing for some of the best teams of the late 1980s and 1990s. In other words, he was more than a High School Manager (TM), and his lack of big league managing experience might have assisted him in working well with an impressive crop of young players.

Perhaps that's why Bridich and the Rockies likely won't require previous major league managing experience with their next skipper.

"That's a fair thing to consider, but it would only be one of a potential host of things to consider," Bridich explained.

"I think we have a very talented core at the major league level," Bridich added when asked about how attractive the job might be to potential candidates. "It's really about how successful can the team be."

Rockies Triple-A manager Glenallen Hill lacks big league managing experience, but the 51-year-old Albuquerque skipper could be in the mix.

"He would be somebody internally who we would certainly consider," Bridich said. "But there have been no formal plans put into place at this point."

Said plans will likely be put on the back burner until the Rockies' brass is able to sort out the coaching staff that the ex-skipper left behind.

"There's no one specific plan in place for that," Bridich said. "We'll be flexible in our thought process; any sort of rigidity probably isn't in the organization's best interest."

It's refreshing that Bridich seems to have some sort of autonomy in this category; after all, in Weiss' meeting with Dick Monfort on the subject, the owner seemingly didn't cave enough to Weiss' liking. But it also could mean that Bridich is difficult to work with. The third-year GM doesn't see it that way.

"There are working relationships that have to be had in competitive environments. There's evolution and changes to it over time," Bridich said. "One thing that's important is that all parties involved work hard to share a vision on how to be the best we can be at the major league level."

"That doesn't happen overnight," Bridich added. "I think you have to be realistic about that."