Report: White Sox to interview Ozzie Guillen for manager's job

Once again, the Chicago White Sox appear to be looking to the past in their search for a new manager.

Ozzie Guillen, who piloted the club from 2005-11 and is now a TV analyst, will interview next week for the White Sox vacant manager's post, sources told Michael Allardyce of NBC Sports Chicago.

It's unclear how serious Guillen's candidacy may be, but he recently said he's open to discussing a potential return to the dugout.

"It is not in my plans. I don't know if it is in the White Sox plans," Guillen said on NBC Sports Chicago earlier this month, per Allardyce. "Even if they think I can help them for next year, I'm very open to listening to it.

"Let me be cocky," he added. "Nobody in baseball knows this ballclub better than Ozzie Guillen."

Guillen won 678 games as White Sox skipper. He led the team to a pair of division titles and became the first Latino manager to win a World Series when he helped the franchise end its 88-year championship drought in 2005. He was also a fan favorite on the South Side during 13 seasons as the White Sox shortstop.

But the outspoken Venezuelan hasn't managed since an ill-fated campaign with the Miami Marlins in 2012. The Marlins disciplined Guillen during that season for his controversial comments about Fidel Castro and fired him after the star-studded club lost 93 games.

The White Sox managerial post opened when Tony La Russa resigned late in the season due to health problems. La Russa's squad underachieved in 2022, finishing with a .500 record one year after winning a division title.

Chicago has already interviewed Houston Astros bench coach Joe Espada and Kansas City Royals coach Pedro Grifol, and both left good impressions on the organization, sources told Jon Morosi of MLB.com earlier this week. Former Texas Rangers skipper Ron Washington is also a candidate, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.