CLEVELAND -- Terry Francona sat down with Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti and general manager Mike Chernoff in August to let them know he was planning to step down from his manager role.

Francona had deliberated over this decision for two months. He knew he was making the right choice. He wanted to let his front office know as soon as possible so that they could start the interview process for his replacement.

“There’s mixed emotions and sadness with Tito leaving,” Antonetti said, “but there’s also excitement about the future and how we use this as an opportunity to continue to grow, learn and get better.”

So, where do they go from here? It’s the first time in 11 years that the Guardians have had a managerial hunt. The first step was coming up with a list of candidates to consider for the role: They were able to come up with 45-48 names, consisting of both internal and external options.

“It’s funny -- as a starting point in the process, we went back and looked back on what our process looked like when we hired Tito,” Antonetti said. “I think we’ll carry some of those same things forward. But one of the things we try to do as an organization is continue to learn and get better, and there are some things we’ll do a little bit differently this time.”

The interview process has already begun. The Guardians are able to interview throughout October, despite playoffs happening simultaneously. Cleveland just needs to get permission from other teams and work around each of their individual circumstances to line up interviews over the next few weeks. How quickly this will move remains to be seen.

“Ideally, as soon as possible,” Antonetti said. “But reality often conflicts with what would be ideal. … The most important thing is that we get to the right person. If we can do that quickly, great. If it takes a month or longer, then that’s the necessary timeframe.”

The Guardians met with each coach on their current staff to let them know that the organization has to wait to see who the new manager will be before determining the rest of their coaching staff. Some current coaches will be interviewed for the managerial role. One who declined the opportunity to interview was first base and catching coach Sandy Alomar Jr.

Alomar Jr. served as Cleveland’s interim manager in 2020, when Francona stepped away from the pandemic-shortened season due to health problems. Having that experience to draw on, he decided against taking that role full-time. But the Guardians are confident he’ll remain in a comparable role to what he’s in now, despite who the next skipper will be.

“Sandy is in a unique position just because of his contribution and history with the organization,” Antonetti said.

What are they looking for in a manager?

“I think we continue to look for a partner to help us lead the organization,” Antonetti said. “Someone who can hopefully help us build upon the foundation we have, but also challenge us to think about things differently. I think that’s one of the things that we really treasured about the dynamic we have with Tito is that we all have very different views of the world.

“Hopefully we can find a leader that’s aligned and shares similar beliefs and similar values, but can help us grow and get better as an organization.”

The Guardians’ list of 40-plus candidates has been narrowed down at least a little bit.

“I think within the group that we’ll end up spending time with, it’ll be a very diverse group with different backgrounds, experiences, perspectives,” Antonetti said.

This is a position that the Guardians know could seem daunting. Francona experienced tremendous success over his 11 seasons in Cleveland and had a relationship with his president and general manager like no other skipper in baseball. But the front office is hoping that comes across as attractive to new candidates, rather than intimidating, considering that type of stability and loyalty is so rare in sports.

“I’m hopeful that they view this as a good opportunity,” Chernoff said. “We have our challenges because of our market and because we know we have to do things a little bit differently. But I think we’re committed to embracing those challenges and partnering with a manager to try to tackle them together. So hopefully they see that as an opportunity as much as we do.”