The idea of becoming a big-league manager never left Walt Weiss. He just put it aside for a time.

But now the former shortstop has emerged as a strong candidate to fill the Rockies’ vacant job after interviewing with the club this week.

“I would like the opportunity to compete again at that level,” Weiss said Friday from Jupiter, Fla., where he was watching his son, Brody, play in a baseball tournament. “Being a part of a team is what really drives me. It’s what drove me as a player. I would like to be a part of that again at the big-league level.”

Matt Williams also has emerged as a candidate for the Rockies’ job, a major-league source confirmed Friday. Williams is the third-base coach for Arizona. He was a member of the Diamondbacks’ 2001 World Series championship team and has coached the past two years on Kirk Gibson’s staff in Arizona.

Weiss, 48, played in the majors from 1987-2000, including 1994-97 with the Rockies, when he became a fan favorite because of his gritty style of play. He later served as a special assistant to general manager Dan O’Dowd before leaving to spend more time with his family and work with the baseball program at Regis Jesuit High School.

This year, Weiss became head coach at Regis, leading the Raiders to a 20-6 record. Regis won the Continental League title and came within a game of reaching its second straight Class 5A state championship game. The Raiders’ season ended in the semifinals when they lost 9-6 to eventual champion Cherry Creek.

Now Weiss is ready for another challenge.

“The timing is right, although I know the timing is never perfect when you are talking about mixing family and baseball,” Weiss said. “But I’ve been involved with the Rockies for a long time and I’ve lived in the Denver community for 18 years, a place I love, so I saw this as a really neat opportunity.”

Weiss earned a reputation as a very smart ballplayer. He credits former managers Tony La Russa and Bobby Cox for shaping his view of the game. Under La Russa, Weiss was named American League rookie of the year with the Oakland A’s in 1988 and won a World Series title with the A’s in 1989.

After leaving the Rockies, Weiss finished his career playing for Cox’s Atlanta Braves.

“I learned from two of the best managers,” Weiss said. “Tony and Bobby gave me some insights I can lean on if I get the opportunity to manage the Rockies.”

Weiss said he’s long maintained a close relationship with the Rockies and began talking to O’Dowd and assistant general manager Bill Geivett about the managerial job after Jim Tracy resigned Oct. 7.

“We started talking about it, and then the talks got more intense over the last week or so, and that got my juices flowing,” Weiss said. “I think the interview went very well. We’ll see where this opportunity leads me.”

Asked what his strengths would be as a manager, Weiss said, “At its core, I think the job comes down to leading a group of men.”

Veteran player Jason Giambi and Rockies bench coach Tom Runnells are the only other candidates known to have interviewed for the job.

Other possible candidates outside the organization could include Indians bench coach Sandy Alomar Jr., Padres front-office special assistant Brad Ausmus, A’s third-base coach Mike Gallego and Dodgers third-base coach Tim Wallach.

Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428, psaunders@denverpost.com or twitter.com/psaundersdp