Passed over when new manager Joe Girardi was picked to replace Joe Torre, Mattingly said today he appreciated the opportunity to interview and was grateful for his 18 years in pinstripes.

"I don't feel any ill will. I'm not sitting here — vengeance is not running through me at all," Mattingly said. "Trust me, I'm not all of a sudden going to start rooting for the Red Sox."

One of the most beloved players in franchise history and a former team captain, Mattingly returned to the Yankees as a coach in 2004. He spent three years as their hitting coach before serving as Torre's bench coach last season. But he said he was never promised the manager's job by owner George Steinbrenner.

"I was never, ever guaranteed anything. Mr. Steinbrenner never said, `Donnie come back, you're going to be the next manager,' " Mattingly said. "You have to earn your place and prove that you can do something, and I have no problems with that."

Once Girardi was offered the job, Mattingly told the Yankees he had no interest in coming back as a coach.

Recent reports said the Dodgers plan to fire manager Grady Little and replace him with Torre, with Mattingly also going to Los Angeles to serve as Torre's bench coach again.

"I haven't seen that Joe's managing anywhere or going anywhere, so it's hard for me to answer that question. It's not a situation that I'm prepared to talk about," Mattingly said.

But he didn't rule out that scenario.