Jack McKeon stepped down as manager of the Florida Marlins on Sunday, ending three successful seasons with the team. The team announced that McKeon accepted a position as special advisor to Jeffrey Loria, the team's owner and CEO. "I want to thank Jack for all that he has done for this organization. He was instrumental in bringing a World Championship back to South Florida in 2003, and his tenure as our manager was very successful," Loria said. "Jack still has a lot to offer, and his years of experience as a front-office executive will be a nice compliment to our baseball operations staff. I look forward to working with him in his new role." The 74-year-old McKeon managed the Marlins to a record of 241-207 during his three seasons at the helm, including winning the 2003 World Series. This season, he became the all-time winningest manager in club history, surpassing Rene Lachemann's mark of 221 wins from 1993-96. The Marlins finished the season with a 7-6 victory in 10 innings over the NL East-champion Atlanta Braves. That gave Florida an 83-79 mark for a second straight year. "I have decided that it is time for me to step down as manager of the Florida Marlins," said McKeon. "I owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to Jeffrey Loria, David Samson (President) and Larry Beinfest (General Manager) for giving me the opportunity to fulfill my dream of winning a World Series. I look forward to my new role and doing what I can to help this organization return to where it deserves to be." The Marlins had winning records in three of McKeon's four seasons as the helm. He took over for Jeff Torborg as manager on May 11, 2003, and led the team to a 75-49 record, a wild card berth and the World Series title with a win over the Yankees. McKeon was duly named the NL Manager of the Year that season. It marked his second such honor, as he also won the award in 1999 with Cincinnati. At the age of 72 years and 329 days in 2003, McKeon became the oldest manager to win the World Series. Even when he was hired at the ripe age of 72, McKeon became the third-oldest manager in major league history, behind Connie Mack (88) and Casey Stengel (75). McKeon completed the 2005 season with a managerial record of 1,011-940, which ranks seventh among active managers in wins. He also skippered the Kansas City Royals (1973-75), Oakland (1977-78), San Diego (1988-90), and Cincinnati (1997-2000).