CINCINNATI -- Unable to reach the playoffs with Ken Griffey Jr. in the lineup, Jack McKeon was fired Monday as the Cincinnati Reds' manager.

McKeon wasn't the only manager on the firing line Monday. The Arizona Diamondbacks fired manager Buck Showalter following a disappointing third-place finish in the NL West. Earlier in the day, the Pirates fired Gene Lamont following a 93-loss season.

	Jack McKeon waves goodbye to Cincinnati after 3½ seasons with a record of 291-259.

McKeon won the NL Manager of the Year award after he took the small-market Reds to 96 wins and the doorstep of the playoffs last year. Cincinnati lost a playoff with the New York Mets for the NL wild card last October.

The 69-year-old manager received only a one-year contract extension after that surprisingly successful season, a tip he wasn't in the team's plans as it looked ahead to a new stadium in 2003.

In a subdued voice, general manager Jim Bowden said Monday he will wait until the playoffs conclude to see who might be a candidate to replace McKeon.

"We want a long-term solution," he said.

McKeon was seen as a short-term fix when he was elevated to manager in 1997 after Ray Knight was fired. The club's young players responded well to his hands-off style and started to win.

A rebuilding club became the talk of baseball when it won 96 games last season, then traded for Griffey in February. With Griffey slumping and the same lineup from '99 struggling, Cincinnati fell out of contention before the All-Star break and never made a serious run at the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central.

"Expectations were high," McKeon said. "If there's got to be a fall guy, I'll be glad to take the responsibility."

McKeon and several of his coaches were told during a brief meeting with Bowden that there contracts won't be renewed.

"It was probably a 45-second meeting," McKeon said. "He said, 'We're not bringing you back, we thank you for everything you've done for us, good luck."'

Junior's father, Ken Griffey Sr., has one more year on his contract as the team's bench coach and is a candidate to replace McKeon. Griffey Sr. has said he'd like to manage in the major leagues, and his son has openly lobbied for him to get a job.

Third base coach Ron Oester also will return and is considered a candidate.

If Seattle doesn't keep Lou Piniella, he could become the leading candidate for the job. Griffey Sr. has no managing experience, but Piniella won a World Series in Cincinnati in 1990 and managed Junior in Seattle. Bowden has kept in touch with Piniella over the years.

Bowden declined to say who was under consideration.

The Reds completed their season Sunday with a 6-2 loss to the Cardinals, finishing at 85-77.

McKeon's firing came a day after Terry Francona was dismissed as manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. Gene Lamont was fired later Monday as manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Reds created much of the preseason buzz last February with the acquisition of Griffey. The perennial All-Star outfielder was traded from Seattle, making a return to his hometown and joining his father with the Reds.

Griffey batted .271 this year with 40 homers, 118 RBI and 100 runs. He objected when McKeon decided to rest him and had a blowup in the dugout with his father when McKeon pulled him from a game because he had hurt his knee.

McKeon conceded that some of the veterans on the club didn't like his style and wanted to see him fired.

"There's a few that will like it and there's a lot that won't like it," McKeon said. "That always happens."

When the Reds rejected McKeon's request for a multiyear extension after the 1999 season, he knew his future with the team was limited.

"That was probably a telling tale right there," McKeon said. "You could read between the lines and say they didn't have faith in you."

His fate probably was sealed in July, when Bowden essentially conceded the division race by trading starter Denny Neagle to the New York Yankees. He also arranged a deal that would have sent Barry Larkin to the Mets, but the shortstop blocked it.

Later, the Reds traded outfielder Dante Bichette to the Boston Red Sox in another move to lighten their payroll.

After 11 seasons as general manager of the San Diego Padres from 1980 to 1990, McKeon joined the Reds' front office in 1993 as a senior adviser for player personnel. McKeon consulted with Bowden on trades and player evaluations.

Griffey Sr., pitching coach Don Gullett, bullpen coach Tom Hume and Oester are under contract to the Reds for next season.

Bowden said hitting coach Denis Menke, first-base coach Dave Collins and instructor Harry Dunlop have permission to speak to other teams about jobs.