Brad Ausmus Suddenly A Veteran In Detroit’s Coaching Fraternity

Dec 11, 2013; Orlando, FL, USA; Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus talks with reporters during the MLB Winter Meetings at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort. Mandatory Credit: David Manning-USA TODAY Sports

Brad Ausmus hasn’t even managed a single exhibition game with his new club, but he’s already one of the longest tenured head coaches/managers in the Detroit professional sports landscape. He’s quickly become a venerable old man with all the wisdom that on-the-job experience brings. At least that’s what he can tell the newer guys in town.

Since the Detroit Tigers hired Ausmus on November 3, the Detroit Lions fired Jim Schwartz and hired Jim Caldwell and, just yesterday, the Detroit Pistons fired coach Maurice Cheeks. That means only Mike Babcock, head coach of the Detroit Red Wings since 2005, has been at the helm of one of the city’s four-major sports longer than Ausmus.

It’s been a few months of shakeups when it comes to managers and head coaches, but thankfully for Tigers fans, Ausmus was hired because Jim Leyland retired after a long, successful run. The Tigers are in good shape, but Lions and Pistons fans are hoping the new coaches can turn around teams who have achieved disappointing results over the past couple of seasons.

For a veteran-laden team like the Tigers, the transition to a new manager shouldn’t be much of a problem. Award winners like Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, and Miguel Cabrera know what they need to do to get themselves ready to go, and the club certainly know what it takes to win the division and march into the playoffs. Things will probably be different for the Tigers under Ausmus’ command, but the results should be more or less business as usual.