For Craig Counsell’s successor as Brewers manager, they opted for his right-hand man, bench coach Pat Murphy.

The 64-year-old Murphy was Counsell’s college coach at Notre Dame and was Counsell’s sounding board and confidant with the Brewers.

The Brewers made it official with a news release Wednesday morning. It was first reported Monday night by The Athletic.

Whatever feelings some fans have toward Counsell after his departure to the Cubs, he was the Brewers’ all-time winningest manager and took them to the postseason five out of the last six years.

The hiring of Murphy shows that Brewers' owner Mark Attanasio and General Manager Matt Arnold opted for continuity. Murphy knows the team and its players. There will be no learning curve there. The coaching staff is expected to stay largely intact. That’s critical because of the excellent work that Chris Hook has done with the pitching staff.

Rickie Weeks being installed as associate manager positions him well to be Murphy’s eventual successor. His day will come. For now, this is about Pat Murphy.

There will be some fans who were hoping for more of a splash name to be the new manager.

I feel people should be given a chance. I just want to see what Murphy can do. It’s easy to jump to conclusions. I want to have patience before I cast judgement. He might flop. No one can say that for sure yet.

There are still some tough decisions ahead for the Brewers. Who stays? Who goes? Naming a new manager was merely the first major task of the off-season. Now, it’s on to shaping the roster for 2024.

In the meantime, it’s fun to think about what those Brewers-Cubs meetings are going to be like.