Pirates fan favorite politely declines bench coach role before major staff shuffle

Ever since Don Kelly was promoted to manager, the Pirates have operated without a bench coach in the dugout. It's tough to determine whether or not that made a major impact, but they finally figured out their order of operations on Friday morning. One option that was up in the air was Neil Walker, Kelly's brother in law and a former Pirates fan favorite, but that won't be happening. For now.

Walker is a Pittsburgh native who attended Pine-Richland High School and became a foundation to the Pirates' mid-2010s success. He came back to the city after his playing career to be up in the box to commentate games. That is exactly what John Wehner did after his career, too, and now they are a part of the broadcast team together.

Both of those former Pirates feel like great fits for a coaching job, but neither have gotten the opportunity yet. It felt more likely for Walker now, considering he and Kelly are family. It just is not the right time for Walker just yet.

“If my brother-in-law was extremely adamant for me to do it, I may have to give it strong consideration,” stated Walker via Tim Benz in an article from Trib Live. “But we’ve talked about it just a little. Logistically, it’s a little much for me right now."

Although it does not seem he will be joining the coaching staff in 2025, him saying "right now" indicates that he would consider it further down the road. Following Walker saying he will not be taking the role, the Pirates announced a handful of coaching changes to the major league staff on Friday, finalizing their next steps.

Neil Walker declines Pirates bench coach role; Pittsburgh announces coaching staff shuffle.

Mike Rabelo will now serve as the bench coach, along with maintaining his third base coach duties. Additionally, Chris Truby has been promoted from the Indianapolis manager to a coach in Pittsburgh's dugout. He had been the Triple-A manager for about a month, after the previous manager - Miguel Perez - had been promoted to the major league bullpen coach.

Shawn Bowman will take over as the manager for Indianapolis. He has been a Dominican Summer League coach for the Pirates since 2019.

Former MLB manager Gene Lamont will also be joining the staff as special advisor to Kelly. Lamont previously managed the White Sox for four seasons, Pirates for four, and coached the Tigers for 12 years. He was a coach of Kelly during his playing career with Detroit.

Kelly is not the confirmed manager for the Pirates in 2026, yet there are now two new faces in the dugout who will join him in his early days. The Lamont hire adds a longtime major league coach to the dugout, so hopefully his experience in the game can help Kelly have more success as manager. The season is far from over, and hopefully this veteran-led staff can get this team going. Maybe Walker can consider a job down the road for the Pirates, but this dugout is very crowded with coaches now.