Pirates team president Frank Coonelly steps down; GM Neal Huntington's job reportedly not in danger

Coonelly had been with the Pirates since 2007, but the team has fallen on hard times as of late

The Pirates have announced that Frank Coonelly has stepped down as team president. The club has already tabbed his replacement and will introduce the new team president on Oct. 28. 

Coonelly, 59, had been with the Pirates and in his role as president since 2007. One of his first major moves was to hire Neal Huntington as general manager. Under Coonelly and Huntington, the Pirates gradually build a winner and 2013 ended the team's long playoff drought. The Pirates also made the postseason in 2014 and as a 98-win team in 2015 but were knocked out in the wild-card round each time. 

Since that run, however, the Pirates have fallen on hard times, as they've registered losing seasons in three of the last four years and in 2019 endured 93 losses and a last-place finish in the NL Central. As well, this past season only the Marlins among NL clubs averaged lower per-game home attendance. Our own R.J. Anderson this past February wrote of the increasing frustrations of Pirates fans in the face of ownership's unwillingness to invest in the team on the field. 

"I have a great deal of respect and appreciation for Frank," owner Bob Nutting said in a Wednesday statement released by the team. "I will forever be grateful for his tireless work ethic on behalf of the organization, as well as his and his family's commitment to making a positive impact in our community.

"Frank and I both agreed that it was clear a change in the day-to-day leadership of the Club is needed. This leadership transition gives us the opportunity to refresh our entire operations. Internally, the organization is energized as we prepare to introduce our new president on Monday, while we continue to work to identify a new field manager and build our coaching staff."

The release also included a statement from Coonelly: 

"The second half of our season was disappointing to our fans and to all of us in the organization. Results matter and our results simply were not acceptable. It was clear that change was necessary.

"As we worked through a comprehensive assessment of everything that we do, I undertook an honest self-evaluation. While not an easy conclusion to reach, I ultimately decided that the best interests of the Pirates would be served if the Club had a new leader who would bring new ideas and a new direction.

"I have been blessed to have had the opportunity to lead this storied franchise in this great city for the last 12 years. I will forever be grateful to Bob and the entire Nutting family for giving me this incredible opportunity to serve. I am grateful as well for the opportunity to work with the highly talented and dedicated women and men who have worked for the Pirates during my time here. Whatever level of success we were able to achieve during this time was the direct result of their dedication to the organization and its fans.

"And, finally, about those fans -- the men, women and kids who love and support the Pirates fueled me each and every day. I will never be able properly to thank them for the love and inspiration that they gave my family and me. The people of Pittsburgh welcomed us to town and supported us throughout this entire journey. I will forever be rooting for the Pirates organization and its great fans."

Jon Heyman reports that Huntington's job as general manager is safe despite Coonelly's departure.