Pro Ball NW looks at Daren Brown’s managerial history. He’s won at every level, and this stood out to me:

Tactically, he’s always shown a remarkable ability to shift gears to fit whatever fits his current roster best, and is very flexible with his lineups depending on the pitcher and team being faced. Those are more important traits for a minor league manager than one in the majors, but they are certainly not without merit at the highest level of the game. Brown has also coached a remarkably large number of the M’s top prospects, so his familiarity with the players, especially their strengths and weaknesses, can only serve to help him.

The author notes that Brown spent no time in the major leagues before getting the call to manage the Mariners. That appeared to be a big drawback for Trey Hillman. Rather than returning to the minors, the Mariners may want him to be the bench coach if they hire someone else. Brown knows the personnel as well as anyone in the organization, and spending time in that capacity certainly helped Joe Maddon overcome his lack of major league experience.

Correction: Added ‘re’ to Daren.