PHILADELPHIA -- PHILADELPHIA -- Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria is reportedly upset with the club's failure to reach the playoffs and will meet with front-office executives next week to decide whether to keep manager Fredi Gonzalez and the rest of the coaching staff.

The Marlins finished the season with the third-best record in franchise history.

But club officials, including Loria, thought the second-place team should have done better despite having a $35 million payroll, the lowest in the majors. And Gonzalez could be on the hot seat despite receiving a two-year contract extension last spring that carries him through the 2011 season.

``We're all disappointed,'' Marlins president David Samson said Sunday. ``Certainly, winning 87 or 88 games is positive for the organization, but our goal every year is to make the playoffs.''

Samson would not guarantee that Gonzalez's job is safe.

Asked if Gonzalez should be concerned, Samson said: ``For me, with any job in any organization, baseball or Wall Street or anywhere, everybody but the owner should be concerned every year. You have to guard against complacency in any business you run.''

Gonzalez was asked about his future with the club after the Marlins dropped a 7-6 decision to the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday to end the season with a record of 87-75.

``You get judged on wins and losses and not making the playoffs,'' said Gonzalez, who became the franchise's all-time winningest manager on Saturday when he recorded his 242nd victory. ``We'll know more in the coming week.''

The Marlins have enjoyed winning seasons five of the past seven years, and they won the World Series in 2003, despite annually fielding one of the lowest-paid clubs in the majors. But they also have gone through a series of managerial changes under Loria since the New York City art dealer took over as owner of the club in 2002.

Gonzalez was hired to replace Joe Girardi, who was fired after the 2006 season -- one in which he was named National League Manager of the Year -- because of friction with the front office. Girardi now manages the New York Yankees.

MISSING THEIR GOAL

``I guess you'd have to ask him,'' Samson said when asked if Loria was displeased with how this season turned out. ``But I believe he feels the same way we all feel, which is we set out each year to make the playoffs and we didn't make it this year, which is something we wanted to do.''

Loria, who resides in New York, did not attend the final series of the season in nearby Philadelphia.

On Saturday, ESPN.com reported that former major-league manager Bobby Valentine was in communication with the Marlins about a job.

``Not that I'm aware of,'' Samson said of the Valentine report.

Gonzalez said he was not concerned about the Valentine rumors.

``You've got to talk to Larry [Beinfest] about that one,'' Gonzalez said. ``I don't worry about it. [Valentine's] a good baseball man.''

Samson said every employee in the organization, not just Gonzalez, is evaluated after the season. He said the Marlins, unlike some other teams, have avoided layoffs or furloughs because of the economic downturn. But Samson said that could change, too.

``We have not done furloughs, we haven't done mass firings in the front office that other teams have done,'' Samson said. ``But we're evaluating the possibility of that, too.''

PAYROLL ISSUE

Asked if he thought the Marlins might stand a better chance of making the playoffs if Loria injected more money into payroll, Samson said: ``I don't think he would look at it and say, `Man, if I just put in 20 more million [dollars], that would have made the difference in making the playoffs.' There are some people that argue we could have taken $4 million off this team and done better.''

Following Sunday's season finale, several players went to bat for Gonzalez, saying they thought he has done a good job and were surprised that his future with the club was in question.

``It kind of shocked me when I heard it [the news], with the job he's done,'' said Wes Helms, a veteran utility player. ``I think he's done a great job considering we had a low payroll and a young team. You can't put the blame on him. You've got to put the blame on us as players.''

Said star shortstop Hanley Ramirez: ``Hopefully he'll be back. I mean, we're over .500. I think we did pretty good. I think we can do better.''

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