One year ago today, the Cubs pulled off a surprising move in signing Craig Counsell to replace David Ross as manager.

The Cubs made Counsell the highest-paid manager in the game – $40 million over 5 seasons.

While that contract is huge, it’s the second number – the 5 years – that is most important to the Cubs.

So even while the Cubs didn’t see an impact in the standings in Counsell’s 1st year – finishing with the same 83-79 record as 2023 – they are taking a big-picture view on it.

“We signed him to a 5-year deal – not a 1-year deal – for a reason,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said at his end-of-season press conference. “The impact he’s going to have on the organization I think will be tremendous. And I think it’ll be felt year-over-year, every year.

“Being able to come in, establish a culture, help us get better with processes and things like that, he’s going to have a huge impact.”

[WATCH: 1-on-1 with Jed Hoyer from the GM Meetings]

Throughout his 1st year in Chicago, Counsell became known for his direct and blunt approach to situations. He did not sugarcoat much, including his team falling short of the ultimate goal.

“Look, I’m here to experience the postseason,” Counsell said on the last day of the 2024 campaign. “We didn’t get there this year. So that means that there’s work to do.

“I’ve enjoyed the work. I’m thrilled by the work. I’m energized by the work – motivated by it. Motivated as much as ever by this place. It’s become even more special, just to be a part of this place. And that’s really motivating to try to get this to a really good place.”

Counsell spoke throughout the year how much appreciation he had for Wrigley Field and the Cubs fanbase – and he added that those factors increase his motivation to get the Cubs back into the postseason.

The Cubs have not made the playoffs since the 2020 campaign and they haven’t won a postseason game since 2017.

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Baseball is a game predicated on stats, in large part. But there really aren’t any quantifiable ways to measure the impact of a manager besides wins and losses.

The Cubs believe Counsell has had a major impact on the organization, helping to shape the roster and improve processes behind the scenes. He’s taken an active role in the whole infrastructure of the Cubs. For example, Counsell has efforted trying to blend the high-level data of the Cubs front office with the coaching staff and clubhouse, something that is rare across baseball.

Outwardly, he did not shy away from changing expectations, saying the Cubs “should be trying to build 90-win teams” on a regular basis.

The Cubs are well aware there is a large gap between them and the top of the division – they finished 10 games behind the Brewers in 2024 – but they are convicted that Counsell will help close that gap.

“I understand if you want to take sort of a 1-year snapshot and we have the same record. That can be a view you take,” Hoyer said. “But I take a completely different view which is, I think he’s gonna have a massive impact on us for a long time.

“You don’t sign someone like that and just evaluate then on Year 1. I’m very confident that when we’re staring back at that contract in Year 5 that it’s going to be pretty clear that it was a great decision. Couldn’t be happier that he’s here.”