Why the New York Mets made big changes to their coaching staff

The Mets made headlines with a big coaching staff purge, and owner Steve Cohen reportedly had a big hand in the changes.

Aug 14, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets owner Steve Cohen stands on the field before a ceremony to honor first baseman Pete Alonso (not pictured) for breaking the Mets all time home run record before a game against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The New York Mets' disappointing finish to 2025 brought major staff changes, with most of Carlos Mendoza's staff either getting fired or resigning at the end of the season.

While most assumed the shakeup came from president of baseball operations David Stearns, Mike Puma of the New York Post is reporting that owner Steve Cohen likely had a heavy influence on the Mets' staff purge.

This week’s Mets newsletter: “You have got a pissed-off owner, so heads were going to roll.” https://t.co/eF3p2ZiLvI

— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) October 10, 2025

In his newsletter for Post Sports+, Puma reported that one former Mets' coach described Cohen as "a pissed-off owner", which meant in the opinion of that coach that "heads were going to roll." The group of departures included a lot of big names on Mendoza's staff, including pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, hitting coaches Eric Chavez and Jeremy Barnes, bench coach John Gibbons and third base coach Mike Sarbaugh.

Eric Chavez says he'll never do the co-hitting coaches thing ever again.

"You cannot have two head hitting coaches. Players get confused when there are multiple voices." pic.twitter.com/Lv0iOs7aPn

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) October 9, 2025

Chavez has done some interviews after being let go and was critical of the organization's coaching setup, telling the Foul Territory crew that he felt having two hitting coaches made it difficult for players to effectively receive information to improve their performance. Most of the staff let go were inherited from previous regimes, which is important to note since Mendoza notably had minimal input in the construction of his first coaching staff.

"You could tell that he was paying attention to [Aaron] Boone all those years in New York."

Eric Chavez has nothing but respect for Carlos Mendoza, who he says has a tremendous future as a manager in baseball. pic.twitter.com/okP1vLQYd7

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) October 9, 2025

There is no doubt that Cohen was frustrated with his team's performance, which was a major disappointment after he implored fans to come out to the ballpark this year to support the team. Mets fans answered Cohen's call by setting a Citi Field attendance record, but were given a frustrating product to watch; history suggests the disappointing season will lead to a significant decrease in ticket sales for the 2026 campaign.

Read More: Should the Mets move on from Jeff McNeil?

Could David Stearns or Carlos Mendoza be next in the line of fire?

While Cohen is a patient businessman, he doesn't take embarrassment very well and the way the Mets ended the season was an organizational failure, especially after handing out the richest contract in the history of professional sports to Juan Soto. While a good offseason can put the Mets right back in position to make a run at the postseason in 2026, there is a good chance the staff purge is a sign that Mendoza will be on the hot seat entering the season.

A former staffer mentioned in Puma's report that he wouldn't be surprised if Mendoza was a scapegoat if the Mets got off to a rough start to next season. Mendoza himself had a trying year and should likely have more influence on his coaching staff this time around, but if Cohen was actively involved in suggesting a major coaching overhaul, the seat under Mendoza is likely scalding entering the year.

Stearns, on the other hand, figures to have more time to implement his vision into turning the Mets into a perennial contender. While the Mets had issues on the big league level, which Stearns owned up to in his end-of-season press conference, they made significant progress in player development with three full-season affiliates reaching the postseason in the minors and High-A Brooklyn winning its league.

The Mets' farm system is also on the rise, generating a wave of Top 100 prospects that both contributed in 2025 (Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat) and are potential assets for the 2026 team, either on the field or as trade chips. There was a lot of chaos and organizational disarray between the final years of the Wilpon ownership and the first few years of Cohen's tenure, so expecting an immediate fix out of Stearns across the board is unrealistic.

Cohen is not only aware of this, but he even waited three years to hire Stearns to run his baseball department, so he is not going to throw Stearns overboard at the first sign of trouble. The Mets will need to demonstrate improvement in multiple fronts to save Mendoza's job beyond this season, but it looks as if Stearns will have more time to execute the long-term strategy of organization building to get the Mets into a place where they are in the postseason on an annual basis.