Replacement for Augie....Who would you offer ???

I doubt the rebuild is beyond immediate repair enough to land an at-large right away.

There's plenty of talent coming back to improve under a vastly different system and a coach who demands results and holds players accountable.

Augie plays a very specific brand of offensive baseball with rules that confuse and handcuff batters all too often.

I have zero doubt hitting will improve under a coach who values potent offense and allows guys to bat more freely. Not to mention one who brings an actual hitting coach who wants to maximize runs.

Many of the new bad habits like awful defense and self-destructive blown leads were a product of lax coaching.

Just a change in coaching mindset from reactive and accepting of lame efforts to aggressive and demanding priority on every game will make a world of difference.

I agree we won't likely win 40 reg season games or make the CWS, but with a worthy coach an immediate return to a regional should be expected.

By Year 3 this thing will be cooking with gas again under a competent leader. And no elite coach is worried about laboring 2 or 3 years to become a CWS presence.
 
Well, we have practically the entire team back from last year. The philosophy of our program, under both Gus and Augie, was pitching, small ball, and defense. Our facility lends itself to those 3 things...not long-ball hitting.
With the players we have coming back, with a competent pitching coach, and with players being 1 year older, the team will look different. After all, 20-something of our errors this year were committed by the pitching staff-----an astronomical number!
Couldn't agree more that players will have more opportunities batting vs playing small ball, so a good hitting coach is a must. The The Disch isn't going to shrink, and the winds almost always blow in the same direction there. So we can't expect a big-hitting team at home. On the road, however, good hitting could win us an additional 10 games.

Doubt if we'll get the #1 player in the state from Jesuit in Dallas. He was taken in the 2rd round of the draft, and he was quoted as saying he wanted to play and learn the game from Augie. Oh well. I think we had 4 others who'd committed to UT drafted, as well. But none of the others were drafted highly enough to not come to UT, should they not be scared off with the loss of Augie as their coach.
 
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O'Sullivan off the table after contract extension. Looks like we are targeting Virginia's O'Connor and UCLA's Savage.

Not sure how reliable the source in the article is but claims we've been looking at O'Connor since 2014 and there is mutual interest on both sides.

I hope we pull off that grand slam hire, he's the top option out there and only 45...

"Without question for me — and I may be biased on this — but I think Brian O'Connor is the very best college baseball coach in the country and I know if I was an athletic director, I don't care what school I was at, I'd do whatever it took for me to hire Brian O'Connor to be the baseball coach," LSU coach Paul Mainieri

"O'Connor's taken Virginia to 13 NCAA Tournaments in 13 seasons. His 2015 squad was his fourth in the College World Series. It became the first ACC team in 60 years to capture a national championship."

Just for reference O'Connor signed a 7-year / $5 mil deal in 2014 ($715k base). Virginia will likely offer a raise now, but this guy is worth Texas money-whipping their offer.
 
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56 Bells said:
The philosophy of our program, under both Gus and Augie, was pitching, small ball, and defense. Our facility lends itself to those 3 things...not long-ball hitting.
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Maybe I'm baseball dumb but is "long-ball hitting" somehow in conflict with good pitching and defense? You can't focus on all of them? Seems like there are a few teams that excel at all. I understand small-ball as a situational strategy.
 
Texas baseball fans have seen plenty of good teams (who don't play small ball) tear it up in the Disch. Small ball is not the only way to win in our park.
 
I think the knock on "GusBall" as being small ball and similarly with Augie (i.e. great pitching, great defense, taking the first 2-3 pitches for just about every at-bat to get walks and wear out their pitchers, leaning in to take hit-by-pitches, bunting instead of hitting to the outfield to advance runners, etc.) wasn't so much that it excluded winning at DFF.

More so that when leaving the cozy confines of DFF to other parks against other teams who went for "gorilla ball" (e.g., LSU) who swung for the fences about every pitch, it might make for a tougher win. Maybe.

Maybe at times you just run into a better team and they beat you regardless of style of play.

It's a debate about as old as baseball: "Good pitching beats good hitting. And vice versa."

I don't care. I look at win-loss records over a long period, getting to the CWS about every other year, winning a CWS title every now and then, etc. Fielding a very good, disciplined, talented, winning attitude team.

If "small ball" works for a coach like Gus, and for Augie, and they excel, go for it.

If "gorilla ball" works for some other coach, like what the LSU coach had a few years ago, then go for that.

I'd guess that small ball should work in any park more reliably as compared to gorilla ball which may suffer a bit in deeper field parks, where the out-of-the-park attempts fall short just a few feet, compared to their home parks with shorter fences.

And at times if the available recruits in Texas are long-ball hitters and not so many 90-mph pitchers, maybe change the style for a year or so. Then, if there's a crop of flame throwers coming to Austin, go back to a defensive emphasis.

For me, who cares about style of play or team structure and approach.

Just win, baby.
 
SabreHorn keeps singing the song that Belmont doesn't have a clue; I am a beliver now. Even with all of the money in the world, you don't let one guy go without having a replacement all but sewn up. Otherwise you get this - all of the good coaches are getting substantial raises (good for them) with Texas having to "settle".
 
Though lacking the championship skins of Augie 1997 or O'Connor 2016...I wouldn't consider landing a talented young coach like Dallas Baptist's Dan Heefner as settling.

In nine seasons at DBU, Heefner compiled a record of 346-187 (.649 winning percentage) with six regional appearances and a trip to the super regional in 2011.

Sure there is limited postseason success, but the guy put up 40+ wins in 5 of the last 6 seasons with resources absolutely dwarfed by those he'd have at Texas. Baptist was independent and not even part of a conference until 2013.

I have little doubt he'd tear it up when finally allowed the proper resources and access to top talent needed to challenge the big boys in the postseason.

Top targets O'Sullivan and O'Connor took their current jobs with zero head coaching experience. Both made regionals the first season and reached 40 wins within 2 seasons.

Lengthy past accomplishments are ideal, but locating a man with the necessary talent to achieve them when graced with our resources will be equally effective.
 
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car54 said:
The Tulane coach has Texas ties, learned from one of the best in Wayne Graham, proven winner in elevating SHSU and Tulane baseball.......He would not be a bad choice since he would NOT turn us down, and we wouldn't have to pay him as much as we paid Augie until he actually earned it by winning here.
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paying less up front is not a great reason to hire anyone, particularly me.
 
ViperHorn said:
SabreHorn keeps singing the song that Belmont doesn't have a clue; I am a beliver now. Even with all of the money in the world, you don't let one guy go without having a replacement all but sewn up. Otherwise you get this - all of the good coaches are getting substantial raises (good for them) with Texas having to "settle".
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don't think it is about Texas settling, more about good coaches taking easy money with lower expectations.
 
Dave,

BOC is definitely up to the challenge, but I have said for some time, I thought he would listen but likely decline. He has no interference where he is, no alumni bitching.

His bosses are clueless but leave him alone.

One of my friends called today to say that just to add insult to injury that BOC will have McConaughey wear a UVA cap at a televised game next year.
 
Seeing as BOC is making $715k base and I've heard no mention of a raise yet, it would be interesting to hear his response to an offer in the neighborhood of $1.215 mil.

Augie was making $1.04 mil on the far side of 70 and on his last leg. BOC is 45 and enjoying his peak. Paying an extra $175k on top of Augie's last base would be justified.

I realize BOC is a loyal guy and greatly appreciates his setup, but a raise of $500k per year is likely grounds to reconsider the depth of his VA sentiments.

Wouldn't be the first time a coach publicly declared his unwavering commitment during an ongoing season only to reveal soon after he met an offer he couldn't refuse.

It's worth noting that we haven't had the chance to run an offer by him yet. I doubt he'd refuse to at least hear the numbers.
 
ViperHorn said:
Not much help in Texas' case. Texas will have a new AD in 18 months or less which means a new at Texas boss for whoever is hired.
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...unless O'Sullivan was offered upgrades to facilities, etc. only to find out the person who made those promises did so knowing he was going to retire before the 2017 baseball season.

I doubt the next Texas AD will tear down the baseball facilities.
 
UT Horn Fan said:
I doubt the next Texas AD will tear down the baseball facilities.
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The facilities are not the concern. What if the new coach and the new AD have a less than friendly past? Hiring into that type of situation can be of concern (especially if the coach is comfortable in his present situation).
 
The conversation on this topic is engaging, but I really hope everyone will allow a few weeks after the CWS ends before claiming failed progress or missed hires.

TCU and Florida are still playing. Virginia is only a week removed. Give our AD a legit opportunity to press targets before claiming status decline and forced settling.

Things are gonna work out just fine with filling the baseball job...give our decision makers a chance to operate and let it happen.

As for Pat Casey as a top target...he's a good coach with intermittent past success and 2 titles. Three areas of concern...

1) Those titles were a decade ago. Only 2 of his last 9 teams reached the supers, one advanced.

2) His teams seem to endure multi-year funks before real success again. Looks like a rebuilder coach who excels when he gets the right mix instead of one who reloads.

3) His entire prep and college background as a player and coach took place in Oregon. However, he did play in the minors in Beaumont, TX for a bit.

I wouldn't be disappointed adding Casey. But if going for veteran coaches I'd prefer better postseason results the last 9 years, and deeper ties to our side of the country.
 
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Perhaps, Perrin should state that he's rethought the process and decided Augie is the best coach for UT and beg Augie's forgiveness......lol.......
If we don't get Florida's coach or TCU's coach, we're "settling"for gawd-knows-what.
 
If pedigree options start looking slim and things turn dim, I'd be in favor of giving Skip a one-year, prove it contract.

Either he earns an extension through dramatic improvement and postseason entry or we start the search again next year.

I definitely don't see it coming that, but we do have a reasonable fallback option.
 
ViperHorn said:
The facilities are not the concern. What if the new coach and the new AD have a less than friendly past? Hiring into that type of situation can be of concern (especially if the coach is comfortable in his present situation).
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A potential bad relationship with a new AD is an issue at both places. Would you rather be concerned about who your new boss is while playing at McKethan Stadium for $750,000/year or UFCU Disch-Falk Field for $1,000,000/year? I'd choose the latter.

I, too, like the idea of Skip getting a chance (if he wants it). However a one-year trial run would give everybody else a whole year to increase salaries, raise money for facilities upgrades, and who knows the effect it would have on recruiting? Another year of recruits would not know who their coach was going to be. If Skip's the man - then Skip has to be around for more than a year guaranteed.
 
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I would rather not choose Oregon State’s Pat Casey:

He’s too old: 57

He’s not done enough recently:

Made CWS in 2005, won 2006, 2007
Last made CWS 2013, went 2-2
Didn't make NCAA tournament in 2016.

In 2011, the 57-year-old Casey nearly stepped away from coaching for an administrative role at Oregon State.

I question if he still has the drive to succeed at the level Texas fans demand. Maybe a change of scenery would help him do that???
 
If we had waited until after the College World Series to announce Augie’s reassignment, we would have avoided putting the likely candidates on the hot seat while they’re still trying to win a national championship. This kind of discussion is extremely bad for team morale at the very moment you need morale to be at its best. The coach can either make a strong statement that he’s staying to quiet his players and fans or defer the issue until after the CWS which lets the issue fester. Some coaches will make the strong statement that they’re staying and then change their mind later when the offer proves irresistible. This damages their credibility, perhaps permanently.

If we had waited until after the CWS to reassign Augie, we would have been able to get our candidate coaches to at least listen to our offer before saying no emphatically. This way they’re under great pressure to quient the rumors before ever hearing the details of the offer. Clearly this has been handled poorly, but there is still a reasonable possibility that we will succeed in spite of our poor tactics.

Florida's Kevin O'Sullivan is still the guy I want and I haven’t yet seen his strong statement that he's staying, though his AD keeps trying to say they will keep him. That AD just announced his retirement??? Kendall Rogers says O'Sullivan will remain in Gainesville and will not give the Texas job further consideration, but who knows what his source is on that.
 
sbmcruise said:
If we had waited until after the College World Series to announce Augie’s reassignment, we would have avoided putting the likely candidates on the hot seat while they’re still trying to win a national championship. This kind of discussion is extremely bad for team morale at the very moment you need morale to be at its best. The coach can either make a strong statement that he’s staying to quiet his players and fans or defer the issue until after the CWS which lets the issue fester. Some coaches will make the strong statement that they’re staying and then change their mind later when the offer proves irresistible. This damages their credibility, perhaps permanently.

If we had waited until after the CWS to reassign Augie, we would have been able to get our candidate coaches to at least listen to our offer before saying no emphatically. This way they’re under great pressure to quient the rumors before ever hearing the details of the offer. Clearly this has been handled poorly, but there is still a reasonable possibility that we will succeed in spite of our poor tactics.

Florida's Kevin O'Sullivan is still the guy I want and I haven’t yet seen his strong statement that he's staying, though his AD keeps trying to say they will keep him. That AD just announced his retirement??? Kendall Rogers says O'Sullivan will remain in Gainesville and will not give the Texas job further consideration, but who knows what his source is on that.
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There has been no strong statement that he is staying. I think that his statements were made at the time to avoid distractions. What I take from them is that he won't give the job further consideration until after the CWS.

If the new coach was not playing in a super regional, there would have been an announcement by now.

And if he was not seeded to play in one, then our motto should change to "WE'RE TEXAS - no more".
 
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I think some people over rate the AD hiring of what coaches......
If your winning, I don't know many situations where a new AD fired a winning coach. While it may not be his guy, in the real world you get other employees and your employees that you hired come and go. You work and do what you can to support your goes and help to make them successful. That is what a good AD does, what a good Manager does......

I believe that all coaches are still on the table regardless of what a AD or the media says about anything. I think the Florida coach is on the list, TCU coach, Oregon State coach and probably a few others.

Perrin only being here another 18 months will have little to no effect on whether this person, if he is competitive, will take this job. He wins, he could care less who the next AD is or who the next one will be.....
 
Major,

The list of coaches fired while winning is far too long to list. Start with Darrell Dickey, who won four conference championships in a row and went to four straight bowl games, two things never accomplished in the history of the school. Fired as he was in the hospital recovering from open heart surgery. Has NTSU had a single winning season since?

The winningest coach in Tech history had ******** charges trumped up to get him out.

New AD at K-State "retires" Bill Snyder and brings in a guy with no HC experience, no resume showing even one quality job.

Those are for starters. Either the HC has more power than his boss or he has to make sure his boss has his back. There are very few quality ADs in college athletics right now. When it comes time for Tom Herman to choose between A&M, Texas, & LSU, the delegated power will be a major factor.
 
I guarantee the list of coaches that were winning and new AD came in and the coach remained is a much longer and more statistically accurate than the North Texas and Kansas State references.

I also think that Snyder was ready to retire at that time and thought it was good timing.

Your Tech reference makes no sense, as Gerald Meyers was the AD that hired Leach.

Your Mean Green references leaves out that his last two years at North Texas were fricking horrible. He was also replaced by the hottest coach in Texas HS football who most people at that time thought was an excellent move.

No offense but your examples are bad examples and I wouldn't even put them in the category of a new AD firing a currently successful coach......

All I was saying is while you want to surround yourself with your people, if a guy is winning it is easier and way more productive to make him one of your guys. People who hire at that level are skilled with people and know how to work with successful people. Successful people surround themselves or leave in place successful people. Unsuccessful people come in and turn the house upside down, my example being Steve Patterson.

The real world with Managers, Directors and VP's is not that different than the college sports world. If you are successful and smart....excellent managers work and assimilate you into their systems and they also learn from you in a two way street situation.

Just saying that if a new AD comes in the odds are if you are successful that he will keep you around and that most coaches do not take an outgoing AD to an extreme level of concern. Is it a concern? Yes, is it a deciding factor, no, in my humble opionion it is blown out of proportion.
 
Erin Hogan said on the radio this morning that he heard Texas is waiting on Tadlock from TTU.

His resume: 2 CWS appearances in 4 years at Tech. 5 CWS appearances and 2 championships in 9 years at the NJCAA level.
 
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