“It was a call from Rizzo and Bob Miller that lasted about five minutes, and when I got off the phone, it was a done deal,” Jennings said. “It just felt right. I know the Nationals, I know their players having played against them so many times with Miami. The respect I have for Mike and a lot of their personnel over there that I know, it just had the right feeling for me and where I wanted to be right now. I’m looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to going and just focusing on going to ballparks and scouting games and giving opinions.”

Scouting games and giving opinions is what Jennings did at the start of his career, the big-league portion of which began in 1986 when he was an associate scout with the Reds while coaching high school ball in Alabama. In 1988, he became an area scout with the Mariners. He met Rizzo in 1989 — “the year that he signed Frank Thomas,” remembered Jennings, who would eventually become General Manager of the Marlins in 2014, joining Rizzo as one of few big league GMs whose path to that position began, and wound through, the scouting ranks.

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“We were scouting directors against one another, then general managers against one another. We kept in touch, whether it be seeing each other at meetings, whether it’s been text messaging and phone calling. I’ve always had great respect for him, the way he’s gone about it, the staff, quite honestly, that he’s got going there with the Nationals,” Jennings said. “I know a lot of their personnel, it’s guys I’ve been around in the game for many years. Every one of them reached out to me that night — “Hey DJ, congratulations, welcome aboard, this is great!” It’s a good feeling to know the group and have a respect factor there and know what to expect going in.”

Knowing what to expect from the start — or having any experience with a new job, at all, really — is something Jennings did not have when the Marlins named him manager early last season. He’d just been named General Manager before the 2014 season, and led the Marlins to a 15-win improvement that season. Then, when the team fired manager Mike Redmond early in 2015, the Marlins decided to slot Jennings in as manager.

“I told them, ‘Guys, I got it. This looks very strange. It’s different. The only thing I can come in here and ask you is for the opportunity to earn your trust and earn your respect,’ ” Jennings said. “It started slow, but it finished very strong.”

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The Marlins won eight of their last 10 series including five series in a row at one point late, which no Marlins team had accomplished since 2003. Jennings said he was happy with the relationships and rapport he built with players. But the Marlins chose Don Mattingly as manager not long after the season. Rather than return to the front office there, Jennings sought options elsewhere.

“It was the greatest education that you couldn’t buy,” Jennings said. “…It’s broadened my perspective on many things now. I’ll look at the game and what happens with a major league team and more importantly on the field, from much different set of eyes. When you crawl in the foxhole and live it with those guys, the depth of what you understand is much greater than when you’re up there in the box.”

From the box, then the dugout, Jennings watched the Nationals’ disappointing 2015 season first-hand. As a GM he remembered looking at their roster, particularly after the Max Scherzer signing, and cringing at what awaited his Marlins nearly 20 times during the regular season. As Miami’s manager, he watched as the Nationals’ “great-on-paper” roster became a public service announcement for the adage, “they don’t play the games on paper.”

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