MIAMI -- Philadelphia Phillies manager Terry Francona was fired Sunday after a season in which his team finished last in its division and with the second-worst record in the National League.

	Despite any protests, Terry Francona was let go as the manager of the Phillies after four disappointing seasons.

General manager Ed Wade informed Francona of the decision Sunday morning. Francona managed the closing game against the Florida Marlins.

"This has been a tremendously difficult time for all of us," Wade said. "Those difficulties are compounded when you have to let good baseball people and good friends go."

This is the first major league season since 1942 in which no manager lost his job during the season. Pittsburgh's Gene Lamont reportedly has been told he will be fired Monday.

Francona managed the Phillies to a losing record in each of his four seasons in Philadelphia. He had a 285-362 record entering Sunday's game.

"It's been a difficult year," Francona said. "And when you have difficult years, the manager gets fired. I understand that."

Also dismissed were four coaches: hitting coach Hal McRae, first base coach Brad Mills, pitching coach Galen Cisco and bench coach Chuck Cottier.

Francona improved the club from 68 to 75 to 77 victories in his first three seasons, but will finish with his worst record this year. The Phillies entered Sunday's game at 65-96.

"This has been a tug-of-war in my gut for probably six weeks," Wade said. "I had a continual fight with myself to say, 'No, I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to make a change.' ... Unfortunately, as much as I wrestled with it, I still continued to come to the conclusion that this was the right decision."

Wade said he would immediately begin to search for a manager and coaching staff, but a decision most likely won't be made before the World Series.

"We'll be able to speak with some people right away," Wade said. "Others will require permission from other clubs before we can interview them. And, there may be candidates who are involved in postseason play. That means we won't be able to talk with them until later this month.

"Although we'd like to put a staff together as quickly as possible, we also want to make sure we assemble the best group for our future."

ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reported that at least three candidates have surfaced -- all of whom are former Phillies players.

The Phillies are expected to interview Jon Vukovich, as well as former Royals manager Bob Boone and popular ex-Phillies catcher Darren Daulton.

However, sources told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark that the Phillies also may be interested in some of the managers that are expected to be fired after the season ends. The Phillies also will interview several minority candidates. The process is expected to take several weeks.

Wade said third-base coach John Vukovich -- one of two coaches retained -- was the only candidate he was ready to identify Sunday.

"There will be other candidates, believe me," Wade said. "But that's left for another day."

The Phillies entered the season with high expectations after fattening their payroll in the offseason.

Philadelphia traded for starter Andy Ashby -- an All-Star in 1999 -- and signed free agent closer Mike Jackson to upgrade a pitching staff that already included Curt Schilling and Paul Byrd -- both All-Stars in '99.

But Ashby struggled before being dealt to Atlanta, and Jackson didn't throw a pitch for the Phillies after injuring his shoulder.

Schilling was traded to Arizona, and Byrd won just two games before finishing the season on the disabled list.

"Last year, we thought we identified fairly specifically what our needs were ... but those moves didn't work the way we anticipated they would work," Wade said. "So we probably have more needs we have to address. But at the same time, I'm not prepared to give up on the core group we have."

An offense that finished fourth in the NL in batting average and sixth in runs last year also fizzled. The Phillies are next-to-last in hitting, and have scored the fewest runs in the majors.

"The reason our record is the way it is is because we played bad and didn't win," rookie outfielder Pat Burrell said. "The coaches have done everything in their power to make us win. That's all we can ask for as players. It's our fault for not winning the games."

ESPN.com senior writer Jayson Stark and information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.