Former A's manager reportedly a candidate to replace Bruce Bochy

FILE - A's manager Bob Geren argues with homeplate umpire Eric Cooper, facing away from the camera, after Cooper ejected batting coach Jim Skaalen for arguing balls and strikes in the sixth inning. The Oakland Athletics played the Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim on Monday, June 7, 2010, at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. Geren is reportedly being looked at Giants manager Bruce Bochy, whose last game is this Sunday. less FILE - A's manager Bob Geren argues with homeplate umpire Eric Cooper, facing away from the camera, after Cooper ejected batting coach Jim Skaalen for arguing balls and strikes in the sixth inning. The Oakland ... more Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close Former A's manager reportedly a candidate to replace Bruce Bochy 1 / 4 Back to Gallery

Earlier this year, Mariners legend Raul Ibanez emerged as a potential candidate to replace Giants' manager Bruce Bochy, who is set to manage his final game Sunday. As Bochy's tenure comes to a close, it figures that a number of other candidates should emerge. This process, it seems, has started.

MLB Network insider Jon Heyman reported Wednesday the candidacy of a somewhat familiar face: former A's manager Bob Geren, who managed in Oakland from 2007-11.

"Dodgers bench coach Bob Geren is thought to be a managerial candidate for #SFGiants," Heyman wrote on Twitter. "Geren, formerly crosstown A's manager, has strong ties to Giants baseball prez Farhan Zaidi from LA/Oak."

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On the field, Geren's tenure in Oakland wasn't particularly memorable. The team never finished above .500 in any year of his tenure, and Geren was fired in 2011 after a 27-36 start. Off the field, Geren ran into a number of colorful controversies. Former A's closer Huston Street told The Chronicle's Susan Slusser that Geren was the "least favorite person (he had) ever encountered in sports."

Brian Fuentes, who Geren demoted from the closer role in 2011, also had some harsh words for his manager.

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"(T)here's just a lack of communication," Fuentes told reporters. "I don't think anybody knows what direction (Geren) is headed."

In other news, Geren was on a 1988 episode of Family Feud, which is miraculously on YouTube in its entirety.

Michael Rosen is an SFGATE digital editor. Email: michael.rosen@sfgate.com.