Chicago Cubs: Could Brothers Greg and Mike Maddux Coexist in the Same Dugout?

One of the names to emerge from the crop of names to manage the Chicago Cubs in 2012 is Mike Maddux, who is of course the brother of Cubs legend and current assistant to the club Greg Maddux.

With Greg's future uncertain with Chicago, could the lure of working with his brother keep him around? Could it even work? Would President Theo Epstein and General Manager Jed Hoyer be interested?

Mike has been one of the best pitching coaches in recent memory. Before joining the Texas Rangers in 2009, he was was the pitching coach for the Milwaukee Brewer's who saw players like Yovani Gallardo succeed much under his coaching style. With the Rangers, he put together two excellent seasons with pitchers like C.J. Wilson and Cliff Lee.

-Mike has proven in the past that he is capable of grooming players into great players, which is something the Cubs will really need.

So then where does brother Greg come in? With his current position of being in the Cubs front office, it would be interesting to see if he would be interested in joining the Cubs as a pitching coach under his brothers regime.

Both Maddux's were good pitchers, but Greg was obviously the better pitcher. The Cubs have many young pitchers, and Greg has already been around long enough to get to know them. Now is the opportunity for him to really coach them and turn them into great pitchers like he was. Obviously easier said then done, but it is a start.

Would they work together though? More importantly, would Greg be willing to work for his brother Mike. It certainly is a very interesting possibility, and could create quite a story on the North Side. Most importantly, the Cubs need to sign Mike first, and then worry about Greg.

Epstein has said he would like to talk to Greg about 2012, but it has never been clear if that was in terms of a front office position or perhaps taking a stab at coaching. It wouldn't be shocking if Epstein was looking to go this route, especially with his early dismissal of the possibility that Ryne Sandberg will be named manager anytime soon.

The Cubs search for their new manager will not likely go quick, as many of the people they will be looking at are going to be also solicited by the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals.

What the Cubs can hope though is if the Maddux brothers like the idea of working together in Chicago, the process will be complete sooner then one would think.

Jeff Chase is from Chicago and is an undergrad at Arizona State University. He currently is interning with B/R and is in process of becoming a Featured Columnist for Arizona State football.

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