The Curt Young Era may be coming to an end, less than 12 months after it began.
MLB.com reports that Young -- hired as pitching coach by the Red Sox last offseason as a replacement for John Farrell, who left to become manager of the Blue Jays -- "is expected" to return to Oakland, where he served as pitching coach for seven years prior to arriving in Boston.
Young has a year remaining on his contract, but members of the Sox' 2011 coaching staff have been given permission by the front office to look for other jobs. Their futures are tied to the appointment of a new manager, and that position won't be filled until a) the Theo Epstein situation is resolved and b) the new management team, expected to be headed by Ben Cherington, can conduct a managerial search, which may take weeks.
According to MLB.com, there was "heavy speculation Young would be dismissed once the Red Sox cut ties with manager Terry Francona".
Young spent 27 years in the A's organization -- 12 as a player, 8 as a minor-league coach and 7 as major-league pitching coach -- before leaving for Boston.