WASHINGTON — This week, Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo begins his fourth managerial search since 2009 after firing manager Matt Williams.

In the past, Rizzo has gone in different directions: promoting from within (bench coach Jim Riggleman, 2009), looking upstairs (senior adviser Davey Johnson, 2011) and going outside the organization (Arizona third base coach Matt Williams, 2013). Each hire brought different credentials to the table.

Riggleman brought to the dugout more than 1,000 games of Major League managerial experience. Williams had yet to skipper a big league game. And Johnson, while having managed more than 2,000 major league games, hadn’t been involved in the day to day operations of a club in more than a decade.

So who’s next?

WTOP Sports’ Dave Preston takes a look at the likely pool of candidates the Nationals might consider for the team’s next manager and what those contenders could offer the talented dugout. The team has not publicly stated who might be on the short list nor whether any interviews or discussions have taken place.