Texas Baseball Coaching Search**Updated with David Pierce Hire**

[Johnstark23]

TCU just dropped two straight to Coastal Carolina to miss out on the CWS Finals.

Honest question; what are your thoughts on Schloss right this second? He can get them there, but can he can't seem to get them to the finals? Seems to trip up. This is his fourth trip to Omaha and he hasn't made it to the final series yet.

Not going to say that it's easy getting to the final series by any stretch, but if there was a year that was gift wrapped for him, it was this one. Coastal was depleted in the pitching staff, had to play 3 games in 3 consecutive days, and TCU was rested. Not sure what happened, but TCU just seemed to not have their heads in either game (yesterday or today.) Slim likened it to watching Texas play at times this year.

I'm not bagging on Schloss, TCU or their getting to Omaha. I am however interested in what the natives say about his teams' performance and how much of that reflects on his coaching.

To me, Schloss is a guy that can get a team there but doesn't know how to go to the whip down the stretch.

 

[Randolph Duke]

I agree. I think Perrin has it under control. 

And I'll be very surprised if the next head coach isn't someone who was/is coaching in the CWS. The main target(s) was always from that group of coaches.

There is soul searching going on at high levels with regard to UT athletics that isn't being widely discussed. The hiring of Patterson isn't just being considered a failure as a hire, it is widely considered as a failure of the way UT athletics are being managed.

Greg Fenves has admitted repeatedly one of his weaknesses is in managing the athletic department. With the opening of the Dell Med School, the operating budget of UT Austin is going to be greater than that of the entire TAMU system. The scope and scale of managing UT Austin is daunting.

This year UT athletics will pass the $200 million mark in revenues. Mistakes inside Bellmont have ramifications other programs do not have to deal with. The mistake in hiring Patterson shows the weakness in the way the hiring committees have been created and how they have operated. Perrin isn't just trying to hire a baseball coach, he is trying to establish the way UT athletics are overseen and managed. The major F@#K-up at Baylor has also set off alarm bells within Bellmont. The problems at Baylor were all rooted in failures of policy and oversight. Again, that Fenves has admitted a weakness in overseeing the athletics department makes what Perrin is attempting to do all the more important.

If Perrin screws up this hire, it should set off alarm bells, because there is a lot of high level alumni involvement in reforming the process of hiring inside Bellmont and establishing an oversight group to help manage UT athletics. The hiring of the new AD is also part of this process. Establishing the credentials to be part of the group that assists the AD in oversight and high level decisions within Bellmont to present a consensus to the university president for his/her approval is what is a big part of the process that is going on behind the scenes.

This isn't just about hiring a baseball coach. Moving forward, there will be no one king of UT athletics making unilateral decisions. Perrin has been mentored by Darrell Royal, his father, his father in law and many others to understand how to handle situations such as putting Bellmont on a firm footing to begin the process of a more than $1 billion expansion ($500 mil for the basketball facility, $500 mil to endow athletics scholarships) and to manage well over $200 million in annual cash flow.

Let Perrin be Perrin. Let the process play itself out. From everything I am hearing, Perrin has this under control and there is some serious intellectual firepower working with him. If the collective intellect of UT Austin can do anything, we can figure out how to get UT athletics, something most of us are quite passionate about, headed in the right direction.

 

[Coal Harbour]

The latest hirings of a head football coach, men and women's head basketball coaches went very well and all programs are headed in the right direction.  I would also like to add, those hirings took place without all this perceived "serious intellectual firepower" at work.  I understand that managing an athletic department is more than just hiring coaches, but it certainly is the most influential decision that is made b/c success on the field or court means revenue.

This is about hiring a baseball coach and I don't give a damn about the inner workings other than "get the hire right"!  Bellmont allowed the baseball program to basically hit rock bottom.  What more did they need to see over the last few years?  Instead of being proactive, they elected to let Augie try to figure it out b/c of past accomplishments.  Allowing that has seen other programs pass UT bye.  Yea, it is about hiring a baseball coach and in the meantime if "intellectual powers" want to maximum revenue, knock themselves out b/c all I care about is on field or on court performance.  Hook em!

 

[joeywa]

The latest hirings of a head football coach, men and women's head basketball coaches went very well and all programs are headed in the right direction. I would also like to add, those hirings took place without all this perceived "serious intellectual firepower" at work. I understand that managing an athletic department is more than just hiring coaches, but it certainly is the most influential decision that is made b/c success on the field or court means revenue.

This is about hiring a baseball coach and I don't give a damn about the inner workings other than "get the hire right"! Bellmont allowed the baseball program to basically hit rock bottom. What more did they need to see over the last few years? Instead of being proactive, they elected to let Augie try to figure it out b/c of past accomplishments. Allowing that has seen other programs pass UT bye. Yea, it is about hiring a baseball coach and in the meantime if "intellectual powers" want to maximum revenue, knock themselves out b/c all I care about is on field or on court performance. Hook em!

I'm going to take a bit of issue with this. While I agree that the last two seasons were less than stellar, how, in good faith, do you let a guy go who is one year removed from finishing in the top 4 in the country, losing to the eventual CWS Champion Vanderbilt? Add to that, Augie is the winningest coach in college baseball. Letting him go in 2015 would have been a disaster. No disrespect to your points, because over the last five years, we've been around a 0.558 winning percentage, but it would have looked foolish telling Augie after Omaha in 2014 that he needs to pack up and move on.

I do agree with Randolph here that something will happen in the next few days. It may not happen on Tuesday, as I think there are still some phone calls/interviews to take place, but I think by Friday we have a new head coach. And regardless of who we get, I think we will have a very good head coach wearing burnt orange. The candidates being mentioned are all solid.

Also keep in mind that $1 million is NOT the standard for college baseball coaches outside of a select few. This is a much more difficult hire than Augie's. When Augie stayed at Texas for 20 years, (the shortest tenure of our last four coaches since 1911-amazing when you think about it,) he reinforced that the Texas job is one that is not a revolving door. We are not only looking for a great coach, we are looking for someone who will be here long-term, runs a clean program, is a good man and has the fire to bring us back to prominence. There isn't another Augie or Gus out there right now.

 

[Coal Harbour]

Joeywa, in all honesty, I agree with you regarding Augie.  I'm just frustrated that the program is in this position and know what is at stake with the head coaching hire.

 

[joeywa]

Joeywa, in all honesty, I agree with you regarding Augie. I'm just frustrated that the program is in this position and know what is at stake with the head coaching hire.

We all are a bit frustrated. There's no doubt that we've all been somewhat spoiled by the success of the Texas Baseball program over the course of many years. We'll get a good coach.

 

[North Texas Golfer]

Well, I'm on record as saying I think it's going to be O'Sullivan. 

However, I don't know that I wouldn't rather have Jay Johnson from Arizona.

 

[joeywa]

Well, I'm on record as saying I think it's going to be O'Sullivan.

However, I don't know that I wouldn't rather have Jay Johnson from Arizona.

Both would be fine choices, although I'd probably rather have O'Sullivan based on experience alone.

 

[java]

I can understand UT waiting until the finals of the CWS to announce. If, however, it drags on long after that (more than a few days), then I'm concerned it's going to look like a bunch of intellectuals and lawyers are running the show. Timing is very important, and we are quickly reaching the tipping point.

Just my two cents.

Hook 'em!

 

[joeywa]

Skip has apparently taken an Asst Coach/Pitching Coach gig at OU. No official release as of yet, but it should come out soon.

Skip is a great guy and I wish him well. If I'm being honest, I wish he'd have gone to a different school.

 

[java]

If he has taken that job, it may not tell us who the new coach is, but it may tell us who it isn't. 😉

Hook 'em!

 

[joeywa]

If he has taken that job, it may not tell us who the new coach is, but it may tell us who it isn't. 😉

Hook 'em!

As this has played out, the only way for Skip to stay in Austin was if Tadlock came here. At the end of the day, Tech did a great job of securing Tadlock with the non-compete. There isn't a baseball program in the state that wants to mess with the legal costs required to get him out of that.

 

[Donald Boyles]

Figure Skip Johnson was going to be gone.. but dang OU

 

[Juan]

It's like kissing your sister

 

[Johnstark23]

Dang Skip.

 

[joeywa]

One of our posters here, Sendero95, knows Skip very well.  This is what he said:

"I talked to Skip on the phone early this morning and burying his dad was the same sentiment he shared with me. He genuinely loved his role at Texas and he became very attached to the program and the kids. He'd been out recruiting like normal for Texas up until the Norman trip. Contrary to what's been said, there were no legitimate open offers that rivaled this to OU considering role and proximity to the state. Doesn't mean a bunch of people didn't offer to figure out a way to get him in their dugout.

Just my opinion but his goal was always the pitching coach at Texas and achieved that. I think he now sees and believes he can succeed as a HC at P5 school and this opportunity at OU gives him a chance to once again show that he can make an positive impact at a program looking for one.

And he's good people. He did jokingly say that Norman was closer to his deer lease than Austin so it has that going for it."

 

[joeywa]

It ain't gonna be Schloss

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[Embrey]

It ain't gonna be Schloss

— Twitter API (@twitterapi) November 7, 2011

You guys had me worried. I am relieved.

 

[joeywa]

Stay tuned folks.  I anticipate that we have something in place soon. 

 

[Bear19]

"Just my opinion but his goal was always the pitching coach at Texas and achieved that. I think he now sees and believes he can succeed as a HC at P5 school and this opportunity at OU gives him a chance to once again show that he can make an positive impact at a program looking for one."

How many people here think he had a positive impact on our program?

In other words did we win more games because of him?

Guess I'm in the minority but I don't think so.