PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon will return in 2003 but will not be offered a contract extension, and all but two of his coaches were fired or reassigned Thursday.

The Pirates are 134-189 in McClendon's two seasons, but lost 11 fewer games than in 2001 and improved from last place to fourth place in the NL Central.

After McClendon and general manager Dave Littlefield met Thursday in Bradenton, Fla., during the team's annual organizational meetings, first base coach Tommy Sandt and catching instructor Russ Nixon were fired.

Hitting coach Dave Clark, one of McClendon's closest friends; third base coach Trent Jewett and field coordinator Jeff Banister were offered other jobs in the organization. Jewett's position has not yet been determined, and he could return to the Pirates in some role.

Bench coach Bill Virdon, a Pirates coach on-and-off since the late 1960s and a former manager with the Pirates, Yankees, Astros and Expos, stepped down at the end of the season to take a part-time job with the team.

The only coaches returning are pitching coach Spin Williams and bullpen coach Bruce Tanner. The Pirates' pitching staff made a significant improvement this season, lowering its earned-run average from 5.05 to 4.21 after adding starters Josh Fogg and Kip Wells and bringing back reliever Mike Williams, who set a club record with 46 saves.

McClendon said he expected all along to return.

``Our guys played hard,'' he said. ``We were short on talent, but we haven't used that as an excuse. We played the game the way it is supposed to be played. We're heading in the right direction.''

None of the moves was considered to be a surprise. Littlefield has made major changes in the organization since replacing the fired Cam Bonifay in July 2001. In his most recent move, he asked longtime scout and adviser Lenny Yochim to take accept a part-time job and a lower salary, causing Yochim to leave the Pirates after 36 years.

Pirates owner Kevin McClatchy was believed to favor bringing back McClendon, who seemed to work well with Littlefield and earned the support of his players.

But, just as was the case with predecessor Gene Lamont in 2000, McClendon was not offered an extension going into the final year of his contract. McClendon has one year left at approximately $600,000 on his three-year deal.

It is likely the coaching replacements will be offered only one-year contracts to coincide with McClendon's. If not, the Pirates might have to buy out a number of contracts should McClendon be replaced after 2003 and his replacement want to hire his own coaches.

Sandt spent 21 years with the Pirates and was a member of former manager Jim Leyland's coaching staff in Pittsburgh, Florida and Colorado. Nixon, a former major league catcher, formerly managed the Braves and Reds. He was hired to bring experience to the staff, as McClendon had no prior managing experience in the majors or minors.

Jewett is a former Pirates minor league manager who joined their major league staff after coaches Jack Lind and Joe Jones were taken off the staff at midseason in 2000.

Banister managed five years in the Pirates minor league system. Clark is a former major league outfielder with six teams, including the Pirates. The Pirates were the NL's worst-hitting team for the last two seasons.