The following season, after a surprising 82–80 run, O'Dowd signed pitchers Denny Neagle and Mike Hampton to long-term contracts.
[5] Afterwards, O'Dowd attempted to shed salary and build a foundation of young talent around franchise cornerstone Todd Helton.
Under his watch, the team developed players such as Matt Holliday, Troy Tulowitzki, Jeff Francis, and Ubaldo Jiménez.
The Rockies, who were making their first playoff appearance in 12 years, swept both the Philadelphia Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks en route to the 2007 World Series, before losing to the Boston Red Sox.
Following the 2014 season O'Dowd was offered a contract extension but declined the deal when he was not allowed to replace Geivett.