Milwaukee Brewers fans are still reeling from the shocking news of their former manager Craig Counsell signing with the Chicago Cubs. The fact Counsell signed with their hated NL Central division rivals made the news unbearable.

For his part, Craig Counsell explained why he decided to become the Cubs' next manager, per USA TODAY's Todd Rosiak.

“I'm looking at my decision, you're considering a number of things, and the challenging part of this industry is that there's one job in 30 places in 30 different cities and me still preserving what I think is a great situation (family-wise). I was able to do that, yet also get a professional challenge. But the proximity made this attractive,” Craig Counsell said on Tuesday.

“I mean, it's just, it's a challenge to me with an organization that is very much in a good place and is just trying to do some special things. So that part of it certainly is exciting and alluring, And, you know, it's a challenge. It's going to be hard. It's scary because change is scary. But sometimes you need to push yourself out of that comfort zone, and that makes it exciting,” Counsell added.

Craig Counsell's shocking move to the Cubs 

In a shocking and wild turn of events, the Cubs fired David Ross and replaced him with Craig Counsell on Tuesday. Counsell's move 90 miles south made him the highest-paid manager in MLB history (five years, $40 million).

Not only that, but the baseball world also went bonkers after Counsell signed with the Cubs.

Craig Counsell had a 707-625 (.531) record in nine seasons as Brewers manager from 2015 to 2023. He led Milwaukee to three NL Central division titles during his tenure.

Counsell takes over a Cubs team that went 83-79 in 2023 and has missed the postseason three years in a row.