Written by Ed Smith @edsmith7133
Remember when Bobby Cox left the Atlanta Braves after losing the 1991 World Series versus the Minnesota Twins to manage the Philadelphia Phillies? How about the time when Joe Torre left the Yankees to manage the Boston Red Sox after the 2001 World Series loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks? Maybe Dave Roberts moving on from the Los Angeles Dodgers and going to manage the San Francisco Giants after losing the 2017 World Series against the Houston Astros? None of these things happened, but a similar thing happened in College Baseball this week as Jim Schlossnagle coached the Texas A&M Aggies to a runner-up finish to the Tennessee Volunteers on Monday night in the College World Series only to leave for a freshly opened job at their arch-rival Texas Longhorns.
Schlossnagle and the Bad Goodbye
In a postgame press conference that resembled that of a defiant coach putting his stamp on a program that would always be a part of his ongoing career, Schlossnagle made it very clear that he was expecting to coach in College Station, Texas for the remainder of his career. Somehow that changed from the media to the ride home. Upon arrival to Aggieland Coach Schlossnagle informed their Athletic Director that he planned to leave the program that in three years raised a team that made it to Omaha (the home of the College World Series) and within one win of securing the school’s first men’s team sport championship in any sport since 1939. Earlier in the day it was found out that their rival – The Texas Longhorns had released their head coach David Pierce after eight years on “The Forty-Acres”. With the current athletic director having a direct tie to Schlossnagle, the rumor mill immediately took effect. This led to a line of questioning that had to be addressed within thirty minutes after what essentially became a National Championship game that the freshly disappointed head coach was forced to answer.
For the Longhorns this is a hire that was a no-brainer. Athletic Director Chris Del Conte had Jim Schlossnagle as his head baseball coach while running the TCU Horned Frogs program. It was mentioned in the introductory press conference in Austin that the trust the two have in each other was a major influence in this decision. Of course, the Longhorn legacy is another factor. He moves to a program that historically has been the standard bearer for the state of Texas with a NCAA Record 38 appearances in the College World Series and 6 National Championships. Known as an excellent recruiter and developer of talent, Schlossnagle is a staple in Texas High School Baseball and gets the opportunity to put his name next to the greats like Cliff Gustafson and Augie Garrido as an All-Time great in Longhorn Nation.
Where Do the Aggies Go From Here?
The Aggies are now in a vacuum. They go from an offseason they thought was secure to the abyss of looking for a new leader to carry on the success the program momentum has bestowed upon this school. In fact, there are plans to build a $90M stadium in hopes of attracting the best talent from high schools across the country and the transfer portal to come to College Station and build on the culture of winning that was started under Schlossnagle. The fanbase is stunned, shocked, angry, spiteful, and confused about how they could be cheering so hard for this coach over the past weekend to hate a member of their rival school more than any football player since Peter Gardere in the early nineties.
There was definitely a financial component to this change. The buyout of $1.35M the Aggies imposed was doubled to $3M by leaving for another school inside the Texas borders. If there is one thing that the Longhorns have proven is that they are willing to pay for coaches that they feel are the best fit for their program at the top end of their popularity. For most programs this would be considered a poor strategy, but in Austin they feel that it is worth it to get their “Home Run Hire”. When the Longhorns get to the start of next season, they hope it leads to home runs, good pitching, and another trip to Omaha.