“At the end, he called me to his deathbed. He could barely speak, but he took the trouble to say one last thing to me. He pulled me close… I could make out only one word. ‘Disappointed.’”

The post-mortem on the disastrous 2025 Colorado Rockies season is offering the slightest glimmer of hope, with the heir apparent son of the franchise patriarch offering it in the form of a new idea. It’s not a fresh thought in general, just one the purple-clad front office has never had: what if we hired from the outside?

For the first time in decades, the Rockies say they will look beyond their four walls to find a new general manager. Bill Schmidt, the longtime scouting boss and most recent GM, is out. And Walker Monfort — the most internal hire in franchise history, and now the team’s executive vice president — is the one addressing the issue on every fan’s mind.

“We are setting our sights on finding the right leader from outside our organization who can bring a fresh perspective to the Rockies and enhance our baseball operations with a new vision, innovation, and a focus on both short and long-term success,” Monfort shared in a news release. “This change delivers an opportunity to shape the future of our club and move forward into a new era of Rockies baseball.”

That’s not just PR copy. That’s the organizational equivalent of the spinning top falling down — it’s real.

Because these are the Colorado Rockies. The franchise that believes the best ideas are the ones found down the hall. The team that has kept its decision-making gene pool so shallow, it’s a wonder that a Monfort hasn’t started on the mound.

They haven’t hired a GM from outside the organization in the 2000s. The last real “outsider” to run baseball operations in LoDo was Dan O’Dowd, and even he was hired by Keli McGregor over 25 years ago. Since then, it’s been a steady diet of internal promotions and familiar faces.

So yeah, it’s a shock to hear Walker be the one promising something different.

The Rockies lost 119 games in 2025, one of the worst marks in MLB history, a new low point for a franchise that’s been in the trenches for seven years. The pitching might as well be a tee, the farm is desolate and fan faith has been buried out back with the regional sports network.

For years, the refrain from fans and analysts has been simple: can y’all just try an outside voice? Give one experienced baseball mind a shot. Somebody who isn’t beholden to the same old insular culture. And for years, owner Dick Monfort brushed it aside.

Now, it’s his son delivering the most important message coming from 20th and Blake in a decade.

This is where things get a little Inception-y. The movie isn’t about dreams within dreams despite the Leonardo DiCaprio memes. The process of the film is about where ideas come from, while the emotional core of that film is about a son confronting the shadow of his father’s expectations. And whether Walker likes it or not, that’s exactly where he stands right now.

Walker has spent his entire professional life orbiting his father’s world. His rapid ascension through the business side of the franchise is viewed skeptically by a fan base that knows exactly how this ownership group operates.

But this moment? The literal Rox bottom in club history. This might be different.

Walker is not just slowly inheriting Dick’s office. He’s inheriting his family’s failures. The decades of mediocrity. The stubbornness. The missed opportunities. The inability to get out of their own way.

And here’s the thing: Walker’s first big baseball decision since getting his gig earlier this year is to not do what his dad would have done in the past.

That’s a train we’ve all been waiting for.

This doesn’t guarantee anything — they could still botch this hire — but it’s an overdue admission and a real opportunity.

In Inception, Cillian Murphy’s character leans over his dying father’s bedside, bracing for one final rejection. He whispers:

“I know, Dad. You were disappointed that I couldn’t be you.”

The old man played by Pete Postlethwaite shakes his head.

“I was disappointed… that you tried.”

That’s the Rockies right now. Dick Monfort’s shadow looms over everything. But maybe Walker isn’t trying to be him.

And for this franchise, that’s real change.