Since the resignation of Eric Wedge, Oakland Athletics bench coach Chip Hale has long been rumored to be on Zduriencik’s radar as a possible replacement.  Today, the rumors became true as Hale met with Mariners officials, kicking off the Mariners latest managerial search.

For those that need a refresher, Hale was a candidate to fill the Mariners’ vacant managerial seat in 2008.  Back then, Hale brought with him six years experience as a minor league manager, and two years experience as a third base coach, all of which fit nicely into Zduriencik’s “no major league managing experience” requirement.  However, when the interviewing process was completed, Zduriencik found his “crown jewel” manager in A’s bench coach Don Wakamatsu.

When the Wakamatsu experiment came to a crashing halt in 2010, Zduriencik put together his next list of managerial candidates.  Unlike before, this time prior managing experience was a must.  Zduriencik would interview Bobby Valentine, Lloyd McClendon, John Gibbons, and Cecil Cooper before finally settling upon Eric Wedge.

Now, five years after Zduriencik’s initial managerial hiring, he’s again looking for another manager.  And this time around, it’s back to “no experienced required” with Hale being mentioned as one of the leading contenders.  Others whose names have surfaced as potential candidates:  Matt Williams, Torey Lovullo, Ron Wotus, Sandy Alomar, Jr., Joey Cora, and Dave Martinez.

Now, I am not going to pretend to know whether or not someone like Chip Hale would make a good manager.  My own personal opinion is that first time managers are best suited on veteran teams –teams that know how to manage themselves – and experienced and war-tested managers are most effective for young unproven ball clubs thirsting for direction.  But truthfully, managerial success comes in all shapes, sizes, experience levels and ages.  Hale’s resume lacks experience, but certainly warrants consideration within the parameters of first time managerial candidates.  But whether an inexperienced manager will end up being the the right fit for an inexperienced Mariners club is simply anybody’s guess.

But here are two things we do know:

First, the last time Zduriencik and the Mariners hired an A’s bench coach with no prior big league managerial experience, and whose resume included time as a big league third base coach, a minor league manager, and a graduate of an Arizona college, the outcome ended up being far from ideal.  In fact, it ended up being a huge black eye for the organization.

Second, the past three managerial searches under Zduriencik have gone from not wanting experience, to requiring experience, to now back to not needing experience.   While the Mariners rebuilding plan has remained constant and will again feature another season of mostly young unproven players, the prerequisites for what it takes to manage the rebuild effort continues to be in flux.  Consistency in Zduriencik’s vision of a manager to lead the Mariners has been all but nonexistent.  And that is not good.

The upcoming 2014 season will mark the beginning of year six of the Jack Zduriencik era.  If the Mariners want to avoid dragging this rebuild effort out for another six to ten years, they have to get this managerial hiring right.   Whether it’s Chip Hale, or Torey Lovullo, or someone else like Lloyd McClendon, there is no more room for error.  Whichever road Zduriencik chooses to take, wasting three to four more years on another failed manager is no longer an option.