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There were empty seats before West Ham took on Brentford in their London derby. And plenty during the game. And even more so as the game drew to a close.

The fans who were left booed their team off after a truly miserable 2-0 defeat that could easily have been 5-0.

These are toxic times at London Stadium, with some fans staying away in a protest against the running of the club.

New Hammers boss Nuno Espirito Santo – yet to win after three games – admits the players have to work hard to get the fans back onside.

There was no sugar-coating this performance by the head coach with his after-match verdict.

“Not good enough. Poor,” said the Portuguese, who was managing his first West Ham home game since replacing Graham Potter, after two away trips.

“Fairly Brentford won the game, they were the better team.

“I think we are all concerned. You can see our own fans are concerned. Concern becomes anxiety, becomes silence. That anxiety passes to the players. We have a problem.

“It’s understandable. It’s up to us to change. The fans need to see something that pleases them and they can support us and give us energy.

“I understand it, I understand it totally, and I respect it. It’s up to us, it’s up to us to change it. We are the people who have to pull the fans back together.”

West Ham remain 19th, with just four points from their opening eight games. They are in action in the next Premier League game too, visiting Leeds on Friday.

Nuno told BBC Sport: “It’s a challenge for all of us. It’s up to us to change the momentum and bring our fans back to support us. In four days’ time we need a big improvement.”

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The future Hall of Famer and current special assistant to general manager Perry Minasian is no longer in the running for the clubâ€s open managerial position, a source told MLB.comâ€s Mark Feinsand on Monday. The club has not confirmed the news.

Pujols was once considered the front-runner for the position and interviewed with Minasian in St. Louis on Oct. 9, but contract talks broke down. Pujols is already on the clubâ€s payroll, earning $1 million a year as part of his 10-year personal services contract that started before the 2023 season.

Pujols is now considered a candidate for both the Orioles and Padres’ managerial vacancies; the three-time MVP indicated during Spring Training that he wanted to become a Major League manager and believed he was ready for the role.

With Pujols now out of the mix, the Angels still have two internal candidates in Torii Hunter and Kurt Suzuki. Both are former Angels who are currently special assistants to Minasian.

Hunter and Suzuki also spent time with the club down the stretch as the Angels conducted their organizational exit interviews. Hunter spent time in the dugout in several series and said in Texas that heâ€d be interested in managing if the right situation came up.

Suzuki also interviewed for the Giants†managerial opening. Both players also played for the Twins and could be candidates for that club’s vacancy.

Additional candidates who have been linked to the Angels include Rangers special assistant Nick Hundley, Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty, former Orioles manager Brandon Hyde and ex-Twins manager Rocco Baldelli.

Angels first-base coach Bo Porter, who managed the Astros in 2013 and ’14, also told The Athletic he has interest in managing again, but itâ€s unclear if the club views him as a candidate. The Angels told all of their coaches they are free to look elsewhere for jobs because the new manager will select his own staff.

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Oct 18, 2025, 06:43 PM ET

University of Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello has emerged as a front-runner for the San Francisco Giants’ managerial job, and a resolution on a potential deal is expected in the next 24 to 72 hours, sources told ESPN on Saturday, confirming multiple reports.

Should the sides agree on a contract, Vitello would become the first manager in major league history to jump directly from a college program to the big leagues without experience in a professional organization.

Vitello, 47, led Tennessee to a College World Series title in 2024 and is regarded as one of the best coaches in college baseball. He would replace Bob Melvin, who was fired Sept. 29 after an 81-81 season, the Giants’ fourth consecutive season without a playoff berth.

San Francisco president of baseball operations Buster Posey has considered several managerial candidates, among them former Giants catcher Nick Hundley and a pair of other former big league catchers, Kurt Suzuki and Vance Wilson. The Giants have instead trained their interest on Vitello, who has distinguished himself as one of the preeminent recruiters and talent developers in the country during a two-decade career as an assistant and head coach in college.

The buyout on his deal at Tennessee is $3 million, the same as his annual salary, sources said.

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The move from college to professional baseball is rare, though not unprecedented. Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy spent 25 years coaching in college before joining the San Diego Padres, with whom he managed in the minor leagues. Murphy then spent eight years as the Brewers’ bench coach before taking over as manager in 2024, when he was named National League Manager of the Year.

Vitello’s transition to the major leagues would come at a far more rapid pace. He would inherit a Giants team competing in a loaded National League West, with the division-winning Los Angeles Dodgers clinching a World Series berth Friday night. San Francisco returns a core of first baseman Rafael Devers, shortstop Willy Adames and third baseman Matt Chapman, and is expected to be active in free agency this winter, sources said.

After more than 10 years as an assistant coach at Missouri, TCU and Arkansas, Vitello took over a moribund Tennessee program before the 2018 season and posted a 341-131 record, advancing to the College World Series in 2021, 2023 and 2024. With a pair of eventual first-round picks and four second-rounders, Tennessee beat Texas A&M to win the school’s first baseball national championship in 2024.

Vitello, whose boisterous personality endeared him at Tennessee and chafed other SEC schools, would enter a different realm in MLB. Whereas college jobs are often defined by the success of recruiting classes, major league teams are constructed by baseball operations departments, with the manager relied upon for clubhouse cohesion, in-game decision-making, bullpen usage and daily media interactions.

The reluctance of MLB teams to dip into the college ranks for managers is long established and has run counter to the hiring practices of other professional sports leagues. NFL teams have regularly plucked head coaches from the college ranks, and in the NBA, there is no stigma associated with college coaches. The closest facsimile to Vitello’s hiring was in 2019, when pitching coach Wes Johnson left the University of Arkansas to take the same role with the Minnesota Twins. Johnson left the Twins in 2022 to accept the pitching coach job at LSU before joining Georgia as its head coach a year later.

Vitello’s philosophies on the game and personality intrigued Posey and aligned with what the future Hall of Famer hopes to build in San Francisco, sources said. In an interview with ESPN in June, Vitello said his reputation as a rabble-rouser did not bother him and that he had no plans to change his approach to coaching, which called for boundary-pushing.

“I think you don’t know where the line is until you cross it. And then you make an adjustment,” Vitello said. “I don’t want our guys, if they give them a coloring book, I don’t want them just coloring inside the lines. You know, come up with something different.”

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Former West Ham manager Graham Potter is set to accept the job as Sweden head coach.

The 50-year-old has been offered the role on an initial short-term basis in a bid to aid Sweden’s faltering World Cup qualification campaign.

Potter had already expressed his love for the country and interest in the post and discussions have progressed quickly.

Sweden have been seeking a new head coach since the sacking of Jon Dahl Tomasson following their 1-0 loss to Kosovo on Monday, a result that made automatic qualification from their group impossible.

They will travel to play Switzerland then host Slovenia in their final two matches as they try to draw level with second-placed Kosovo, who have seven points in Group B.

However, they could still reach the play-offs even without finishing in the top two of Group B as a result of their success in the 2024-25 Nations League, where they topped their group.

Potter was sacked by West Ham at the end of September after a disappointing start to the season.

Five losses in six games in the 2025-26 campaign had left West Ham in the relegation zone. Overall, he won just six of 23 matches since joining the east London club in January.

However, Potter retains a positive image in Sweden, having delivered three promotions in four seasons at Ostersund, taking them from the fourth division to the top flight, while also winning a domestic cup in 2017.

Potter also had successful spells managing Brighton and Swansea City before joining Chelsea in 2022 but was dismissed from his role at Stamford Bridge after seven months.

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The Tennessee Titans’ coaching search is less than a week old, but a handful of candidates have emerged as early contenders.

After the Titans’ firing of head coach Brian Callahan, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini linked Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy and Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith to the opening.

Anarumo, 59, has served various roles for NFL teams since 2012. He was the Miami Dolphins defensive backs coach from 2012 to 2017, spent one season as the New York Giants defensive backs coach in 2018 and was the Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator from 2019 to 2024.

The Bengals fired Anarumo over the offseason and he took over as the Colts’ defensive coordinator this year. Indianapolis’ defense has had mixed results through six games, ranking 19th in yards allowed per game (329.2) but fourth in points allowed per game (19.2).

Weaver, 45, got his NFL start in 2012 and worked for a handful of teams before taking over as Miami’s defensive coordinator in 2024. After some struggles in Year 1, Weaver’s defense hasn’t been great so far in 2025. The Dolphins rank 30th in yards allowed per game (389.3) and 29th in points allowed per game (29).

Nagy, the former head coach of the Chicago Bears, has found success since returning to an assistant role in 2022, helping Kansas City win a pair of Super Bowls. After a down year offensively last year, the Chiefs appear to be hitting their stride under Nagy.

It’s also worth noting that Nagy has a connection to Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi, who was previously the Chiefs assistant general manager.

Smith spent the first nine years of his NFL career with the Titans, joining the team as a defensive quality coach in 2011 and eventually taking over as offensive coordinator. He landed his first head coaching job with the Atlanta Falcons, but lasted just three seasons.

He’s now serving under a veteran head coach in Mike Tomlin and could be ready to return to Tennessee, this time as a head coach.

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The main word that springs to mind is stability.

In May 2022, Giovanni van Bronckhorst consoled his players in the sweltering heat of Seville as Rangers lost the Europa League final on penalties. It was a mesmeric and heroic run with a sting in the tail, but a Scottish Cup win was to follow just days later to soothe the pain.

Six months on to the day, the Dutchman was axed and the Rangers managerial merry-go-round began.

Since then, Michael Beale, Philippe Clement, Barry Ferguson and Martin have all been in charge across a period of just over three years, with only a League Cup win to show for it.

“They’ll be looking for a bit of help probably, guidance, just to get them a bit of stability,” said former Rangers striker Billy Dodds, who was part of the coaching team last season under Ferguson.

“There’s things that can help. I’ve been in there, we gathered it when we went in right away, got it feeling vibrant again, got it feeling happy, and then you get to the football as well.

“There’s a lot of things that can be done to help right away, but long-term, they need somebody who’s a leader, good at galvanising people, and then make sure that the guy they put in there is going to demand strong values and send out the right message that this club now is on the right path.”

Since Martin’s back-door exit at the Falkirk Stadium, it’s been under-19s coach Steven Smith, B Team coach Brian Gilmour, performance coach Rhys Owen and goalkeeper coach Sal Bibbo holding the fort.

Inside the dressing room Rangers do have experience. Jack Butland, John Souttar, Kieran Dowell and captain James Tavernier make up the squad’s senior leadership team.

Dodds, though, believes a strong figurehead is needed in quickly.

“He (Tavernier) can only do so much so,” he said. “Tav’s not a really outspoken guy, he’s a quiet lad, does his talking on the pitch.

“There’s a group, the leadership core in there, but I wouldn’t say that it’s the old-school leaders where they’ll get all the team together and make a speech, it’s not like that.

“I think it’ll be collective as a unit, they’ll be probably saying to one another ‘we need it sorted, we need it sorted pretty quickly’.

“There’s no real standout leader, even though there’s the captain, the vice-captain, there’s a leadership group. I think the boys have got to get together, but they can only do so much.

“I think it’s up to the club’s hierarchy to get the managerial situation sorted out and maybe get a strong figure in there that’s a leader.”

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Former MLB outfielder Torii Hunter and ex-MLB catcher Kurt Suzuki are expected to interview for the Los Angeles Angels’ managerial opening, per Sam Blum of The Athletic.

The Angels have been heavily rumored to target Albert Pujols for their managerial opening, but Blum reported that team owner Arte Moreno is looking to cast a wider net.

“Albert Pujols is no longer the only contender for the Angels’ managerial opening. The team plans to interview more candidates for the position, a team source told The Athletic,Âchanging course from their initial line of thinking. Pujols remains the favorite for the job, the source said, though owner Arte Moreno has decided he wants a more thorough process.”

In addition, the Angels would like to interview Texas Rangers special assistant Nick Hundley, Chicago Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty and ex-Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde. They’d also potentially like to talk to ex-Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli.

Blum clarified, however, that “it’s unclear if any of those conversations have taken place, or if there’d be mutual interest.”

This article will be updated soon to provide more information and analysis.
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Manny Ramírez is hoping to return to baseball in a coaching capacity.

“He wants to bring his greatness to teach the young guys,” his agent, Hector Zepeda, told Jon Heyman of the New York Post, who added that the former slugger has reached out to all 30 MLB teams about becoming a hitting coach.

That mirrors comments Ramírez made in late September during an appearance on Foul Territory.

“I just need the opportunity. To be honest, I spoke to Boston last year,” he said at the time. “We were talking a little bit and I know they hired a guy from Driveline Baseball. We were talking, but then we never got back to, like, getting serious about it. So, they never got back to me. So I never went back to them to see if it was really an opportunity.”

His credentials as a hitter are impressive: A .312 career batting average with 555 home runs, 1,831 RBI and a .996 OPS. While some of those numbers were perhaps inflated by PED use, there’s no doubt that Ramírez was born to hit.

Hitting and teaching hitting are not the same, of course. Plenty of amazing athletes aren’t great coaches for that very reason. Having innate gifts doesn’t always translate into understanding the underlying mechanics behind them, not to mention being able to communicate that understanding in a digestible way. But Ramírez is hoping to give it a shot.

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If Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd has decided Cooper Flagg will begin the regular season as the starting point guard, he isn’t saying it publicly.

Following the Mavs’ 121-94 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in their preseason finale on Wednesday, Kidd was noncommittal when discussing Flagg’s position going forward while also praising the “incredible job” the rookie has done:

“He’s got to keep an index of who got shots, what was the last shot, and that’ll come with reps. But I think [Flagg] has done an incredible job of handling the situation of running the team. And the other thing that I think that is going unnoticed is that his teammates enjoy him running the team.”

Flagg started at the point in Dallas’ final two preseason games. He was used at forward in the first two games, with D’Angelo Russell running the point in matchups against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Charlotte Hornets.

Regardless of the role he was playing, Flagg looked comfortable on the court in all four preseason games. He averaged 11.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists in just under 22 minutes per game in the preseason.

The Mavs have challenged Flagg by letting him run the offense going back to the Summer League.

ESPN’s Tim MacMahon noted Kidd became intrigued with the idea of using the No. 1 pick at the point when studying his tape from Duke because he saw echoes of Grant Hill’s game in the film.

Hill, like Flagg, had a traditional forward body with the ball-handling skill to lead an offense. The Detroit Pistons legend averaged at least five assists per game in each of his first seven seasons.

The Mavericks signed Russell in free agency to be a stop-gap point guard while they wait for Kyrie Irving to return from a torn ACL. He is a capable starter and also has experience coming off the bench.

Flagg could be one of the smaller starters in this Mavs lineup when everyone is healthy. The other players on the court with him will be Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington and Dereck Lively II.

Given the size that Dallas can put on the court, if Flagg can run the offense right out of the gate, this team could be very difficult to stop.

We will find out what role Kidd has in mind for Flagg very soon. The Mavs will tipoff the regular season against the San Antonio Spurs on Oct. 22.

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While the Yankees haven’t conveyed that noticeable changes to their coaching staff are expected this offseason, it appears they’re at least comfortable seeing one of Aaron Boone’s trusted minds pursue a promotion elsewhere.

According to a report from the New York Post, the Yankees have granted the Twins permission to interview hitting coach James Rowson for their open managerial position. Red Sox bench coach Ramon Vazquez and former Pirates skipper Derek Shelton are reportedly in the running as well.

It’s not at all surprising to see Rowson — who assumed the Bronx role ahead of the 2024 season — on the Twins’ radar. The 49-year-old oversaw a Yankees offense that produced league-high marks in home runs (274), runs (849), OPS (.787), and walks (639) during the 2025 campaign.

Rowson also has a history with the Twins, as he worked as their hitting coach for three seasons (2017-19) before serving as Marlins bench coach from 2020-22. The Yankees knew they were receiving a power-centric approach from Rowson — the Twins smacked a league-record 307 homers during his third and final season there.

It remains to be seen whether Rowson emerges as a serious managerial candidate. The Mount Vernon native has a long history with the Yankees, too — he played a few seasons in the Yankees’ farm system (1995-97) and spent seven seasons (2006-11, 2014-16) as their minor league hitting coordinator.

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