The Cincinnati red head coach Terry Francona was sacked because of his mental health and health problems.

Terry Francona isn’t the only longtime, respected baseball figure coming out of “retirement” to join the Cincinnati Reds field staff for the upcoming season.

Francona’s closest confidante through nearly five decades in the game, Brad Mills, returns to the side of the Reds’ new manager after five seasons away from the dugout following a tragic family loss in 2020.

Mills, the former Houston Astros manager and a former college and big-league teammate of Francona, begins his 18th season as Francona’s bench coach, in their fourth stop together after Francona managing stints in Philadelphia, Boston and Cleveland.

CINCINNATI — The coaching staff under new Reds manager Terry Francona has taken shape with several new hires who are joining holdovers from past seasons.

It was announced on Tuesday that longtime Francona staffer Brad Mills was named as one of the team’s bench coaches. Mills has been on Francona’s various coaching staffs for 17 of his 22 seasons working in the big leagues — including at Philadelphia, Boston and Cleveland.

Mills, 67, also managed the Astros from 2010-12 and played for parts of four seasons with the Montreal Expos from 1980-83, where he was Francona’s teammate.

Also added were new assistant hitting coaches Alex Pelaez and Will Remillard and bullpen catcher James Keller. New hitting coach/director of hitting Chris Valaika — who worked under Francona for the Guardians — was hired by Cincinnati on Oct. 24.

Pelaez, who has 17 seasons in the Reds’ organization, will be working in the big leagues for the first time. He was the hitting coach at Triple-A Louisville the past four seasons. Remillard will also be a first-time big league coach after he spent the past 12 seasons working in the Cubs’ organization in a variety of roles.

Several members of former manager David Bell’s coaching staff are remaining under Francona. Freddie Benavides, who finished the 2024 season as interim manager, will return to his role as a bench coach with the added title of field coordinator.

Derek Johnson is the pitching coach/director of pitching, while third-base coach J.R. House, first-base coach Collin Cowgill, assistant pitching coach Alon Leichman, bullpen coach Matt Tracy, coach/coordinator of advanced scouting Kyle Arnsberg and bullpen catcher Jose Duarte are back in their previous roles.