Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
Just minutes after Texas A&M’s (53-15) College World Series Finals loss to Tennessee in the decisive Game 3 on Monday night, Aggies head coach Jim Schlossnagle became the talk of the college baseball world.
Schlossnagle has led the program to two CWS appearances in his first three seasons. But during the past week in Omaha, rumors spread throughout social media regarding his coaching future.
On the surface, the rumors and their timing seemed extremely confusing, coming as they did during A&M’s run to the championship round. Then the Texas Longhorns announced the dismissal of longtime baseball head coach David Pierce on the day Schlossnagle and Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello, another hot coaching target, were playing for the title.
After the game, while Vitello crowd surfed with the Volunteer faithful, Schlossnagle was asked by TexAg’s Richard Zane if he could answer the “circulating rumors” regarding the Texas opening. Here is how he answered, minus several omissions:
“I left my family to be the coach at Texas A&M. I took the job at Texas A&M to never take another job again. That hasn’t changed in my mind.”
“I have poured every ounce of my soul into this job. I have given this job every single once I could possibly give it.”
Some may view his answer as an emphatic defense of what he built in just three seasons and read into it a future commitment to the program. After all the Aggies are doing everything to keep him, including the school’s recent $80 million commitment to renovating Blue Bell Park.
However, that smoke has become a raging fire. On Tuesday afternoon, Houston Chronicle writers Kirk Bohls and Brent Zwerneman revealed Schlossnagle is weighing his options between staying with the Aggies and leaving for the Texas job. His ties to Longhorns athletic director Chris Del Conte go back to their time together at TCU.
With a decision reportedly set to be made Tuesday night, Texas A&M AD Trev Alberts has his work cut out for him. For what it’s worth, here is how the financials weigh out:
This will be fascinating to watch play out. #Horns would owe A&M around $3M in buyout + whatever Schloss's salary would be at Texas. Schloss camp has been adamant no chance of movement unless the new ballpark project was botched. It was not. Situations can 100% change, however. https://t.co/3j007SIzw2
— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) June 25, 2024
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