Pirates manager Jim Tracy and his staff met with general manager Neal Huntington much of yesterday afternoon and into last night at PNC Park, but no resolution was made regarding their status.

The meetings consisted mostly of discussions about players and other aspects of the team's operations and strategies, as has been the case with most of Huntington's gatherings in his first week. No promises were made, and no deadline was set for Huntington's decision, but he confirmed it is not expected today.

By some accounts, a decision could come tomorrow.

"I'm just not ready to set a day," Huntington said last night. "Although we've already had many discussions, we still need to have more."

Tracy has a contract through 2008, and his staff -- pitching coach Jim Colborn, hitting coach Jeff Manto, first base coach John Shelby, third base coach Jeff Cox and bullpen coach Bobby Cuellar -- is under contract through the end of this month. Still, it is considered etiquette in Major League Baseball to let such employees know their fates quickly so they can pursue other openings.

The prospects of retaining Tracy continued to appear dim yesterday, with one source close to the process last night saying, "It doesn't look good for Trace."

Huntington was adamant, though, that he has "absolutely not" made up his mind.

He praised Tracy and the coaches for their handling of the meeting.

"It was a great exchange of information," he said. "There were great answers. I think I asked some very difficult and probing questions at times and, given the circumstances, I could not have been more impressed and more pleased with the staff as a group. Absolute, true professionalism."

Generally, when a manager is fired, the entire staff is let go, but that might not be the case if Tracy is not kept.

Manto was a player in the Cleveland organization in 1998-99 during Huntington's first two years as the Indians' director of player development. Cox is widely recognized as one of the best third base coaches in the game. And Cuellar joins those two as the only coaches who were not tied to Tracy before coming to Pittsburgh.

Huntington was asked if he will be taking an all-or-nothing approach regarding Tracy and the staff.

"I'm open-minded all around," he said. "I'm coming into this with a true evaluation of all of our personnel and systems to try to find out what is best for the Pittsburgh Pirates. And I'm not speaking specifically to the major-league staff or scouting or player development. I just want the best people and plan going forward."