Dale Sveum was well-liked. He knew baseball. He got the Brewers, despite the oddest of circumstances in the playoffs.

Though for all that, he won't be back as the Brewers manager next season.

In conference calls with local and national reporters Saturday, both general manager Doug Melvin and owner Mark Attanasio talked about the desire to bring a veteran and experienced skipper to the dugout as they look to turn the Brewers into perennial playoff participants.

Melvin told reporters that he has taken a number of calls from interested candidates in the days since the Brewers' season ended. Sveum was the first person he talked with, and he has since been going over resumes from a short list of people under consideration.

Sveum has been highly-regarded around baseball and it was believed that he earned a chance at returning after leading the Brewers to a 7-5 finish and their first playoff berth since 1982.

"Dale is a solid baseball guy," Melvin said. "I think he has a chance to manage in the future but I'm looking for someone with success and experience at the big-league level."

The decision will be made by Melvin. Attanasio made that point during his own conference-call Saturday. Both parties said that, while not always seeing eye-to-eye, they do have a very good working relationship. And while Melvin will make the call, Attanasio will sign off on any decision.

"I have the ultimate approval over what's done here," Attanasio said.

Melvin didn't tip his hand and list any candidates, but it's believed that Ken Macha -- originally offered the job in 2003 -- along with Cubs' broadcaster Bob Brenly and former New York Mets manager Willie Randolph are believed to be candidates.

Each of those men has been fired from previous jobs; something that Melvin says is just part of the business.

"I've been a big believer that sometimes, the second time around, people are better," Melvin said. "I don't have any front-runners but I have talked to a couple of people already."

In addition to experience, Melvin is looking for somebody that has familiarity with the Brewers. He wants somebody that knows the lineup, the pitching staff, the pluses and the minus.

Those qualifications could move Brenly to the top of the list. The most-accomplished of available candidates, Brenly managed the Arizona Diamondbacks to a World Series Championship in 2001. He is currently an analyst on WGN's Chicago Cubs broadcasts, giving him ample opportunity to see the Brewers in the past few seasons.

Whomever the new manger is, Melvin plans to let him hire his own bench coach, hitting coach and third base coach but hopes to retain pitching coach Mike Maddux, bullpen coach Bill Castro and first base coach Ed Sedar.

"I want to create some stability here and continuity," said Melvin, according to the Journal Sentinel. "I want to talk to them and see if they want the opportunity to come back. I'm hoping it won't be a complete turnover with the coaching staff."

Hitting coach Jim Skaalen was not retained for next season. Robin Yount, who took over as bench coach when Sveum replaced Ned Yost, is not expected to return, nor is third-base coach Garth Iorg.

Bringing in an experienced manager is something different for the Brewers, who have more often than not been a place for skippers to cut their teeth.

Of the 11 managers the team has hired in its 39 seasons (not counting interim managers), only three -- Rene Lachemann, Alex Grammas and Dave Bristol -- had prior big-league managerial experience.

Del Crandall, George Bamberger, Harvey Kuenn, Tom Trebelhorn, Phil Garner, Davey Lopes and Ned Yost were all first-timers when they took over the team.

Both GM and owner are hoping to move quickly -- though making a thorough evaluation -- so they can set about the business of working on the roster.

Melvin and Attanasio plan to sit down in the next few weeks and discuss an offer for free agent pitcher CC Sabathia. The lefty, acquired from Cleveland in July, is going to draw major interest from big market clubs this winter and will certainly expect to see money comparable to the amount offered to San Francisco's Barry Zito and New York's Johann Santana.

Attanasio said the offer will be fair.

"It will be a serious offer," he said. "It's difficult to handicap at this point. We haven't looked at any of the specific parameters yet, so I can't say yes or no."