Mariners president Kevin Mather on the decision to fire Jack Zduriencik and what’s next

The decision the Mariners made Friday morning to fire general manager Jack Zduriencik was not entirely about the club’s 2015 failures, according to team president Kevin Mather. But they certainly didn’t help.

“The whole city is disappointed,” Mather told “Brock and Salk” on 710 ESPN Seattle shortly after the announcement. “I feel for our fans, I feel for our fan base; they’ve been so good and so loyal. But it’s really not about 2015, it’s about the leadership and the direction of this team over the long term.”

Related: Zduriencik reflects on tenure with Mariners, wishes club well

Mather said the decision was based on the need to change the team’s baseball operations department – from international signings and drafts to amateur scouting and analytics.

“We said, you know what, this team is better than when Jack took over but we’re not getting to meaningful baseball in October and that’s where our goal is and that’s where we intend to end up,” Mather. “Maybe we were a little too optimistic. Maybe we were hoping things would get better at the major-league level. Thus, it took us a little longer than it should have. We were patient. It was a tough morning and the search starts. We are going to find a general manager who can lead this organization.”

Seattle is 59-69 and seven games out of the second American League wild-card spot. Mather said the reason for the mid-season firing was that he believes there will be a lot of changes in baseball operation departments around MLB. He said commissioner Rob Manfred told him Seattle is a “plumb market.” Mather said he wants to get an early start and that it was critical that any potential GM could watch the team in September.

“It’s tough when it’s November and free agents are already signed, trades are already made,” Mather said. “I want to hit the ground running. I’d like to get this position filled as quickly as possible so this offseason isn’t lost.

“I think the Mariners have the nucleus of a very good baseball team and October baseball is, if not in (2015), then ’16, ’17 and beyond. And I can’t afford to lose an offseason right now.”

Mather said he talked to the chairman and other key owners about his decision on Wednesday and Thursday.

“I’ve learned along the way it’s best not to surprise your ownership,” he said.

Mather said Zduriencik handled his firing with class.

“He opened his hotel room door and said, ‘I get it, I’m going to make this easy for you: We didn’t win enough baseball games,’ and he was first class,” Mather said. “…I’m sure he will land on his feet in baseball somewhere.”

Mather said he told Lloyd McClendon on Friday morning that the manager still has complete support from the organization, but that he and all staff members will report to the new general manager, who will ultimately make the decisions. Mather plans to address the team on Friday afternoon.

Mather said he views the Mariners’ roster as “really close.”

“This year is hard to explain because I thought we were close in March of this year,” he said.

Mather said he has a list of potential candidates, which he plans to eventually narrow down to three or four. The next general manager won’t necessarily be centrally focused on analytics or sabermetrics, Mather said, but he’ll be able to use all of his resources. Mather added that the organization will be looking for someone who “understands all parts and is smart enough to delegate smart people to help him.”

Mather said it’s too soon to tell whether the team needs to consider a complete roster tear-down, a route that the Houston Astros took a few seasons ago. He hopes that’s not the proposals by potential Mariners general managers, but understands it might be.

“Hear it from one person and they’re probably not a candidate,” Mather said. “Hear it from five or six and you’d better step back and re-examine what you have.”

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