Kendall Rogers Hot Board Aggie Coach Search

barseven7 · Wednesday at 8:15 PM

What does the Texas A&M job entail?

The Aggies had a season to remember that ended with a trip to the College World Series finals against Tennessee. However, things quickly turned sour in College Station on Tuesday as head coach Jim Schlossnagle announced his intentions to head to the University of Texas within 24 hours of his team’s season ending.
In a deal that was concocted, sources say, between the Georgia series and the NCAA tournament, the Longhorns plucked Schlossnagle away from the Aggies after the most historic season in program history. Schlossnagle, in essence, really wanted to coach under his best friend and Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte. That’s ultimately what Schloss’s move boiled down to. The other item that was a point of contention between Schlossnagle and the Aggies was the timing and funding of a fully renovated ballpark. Schlossnagle was given assurances when he signed on with the Aggies a few years ago that a renovated ballpark was on the way. That timeline has been pushed back to the summer of 2025. However, the Aggies, as recently as two weeks ago, received results of a ballpark survey that included a high demand for premium seating, among other amenities. The belief is that A&M will raise well beyond the $80M originally planned for the renovations. I’d expect that figure to climb even more with Schlossnagle’s departure. Interestingly, it’s worth mentioning that multiple sources in College Station were tipped off about what was brewing with Texas when Schlossnagle did not show up for a ballpark planning meeting before the team’s trip to the College World Series.
It’ll be fascinating to see what the Aggies decide to do on the coaching front. Losing Schlossnagle to their rivals will most certainly cause a stinging sensation. Give Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte credit for moving that hire past the finish line. It was truly impressive. But that transaction also will motivate A&M to aim higher than ever on the coaching front. Ballpark renovations are expected to get expedited and coffers are expected to be opened on the NIL and salaries front.
Overall, the Texas A&M job has a lot of pluses. The Aggies have a rabid fan base from a baseball standpoint with a fantastic ballpark atmosphere. There’s a lot of money within the alumni base to make things happen on the facilities and NIL front, and the brand is solid, particularly in the Lone Star State. All of these pluses, along with more perks, is why the A&M job is unanimously considered by coaches as one of the better college baseball jobs in the country.

Now, the Aggies embark on what is expected to be a fast-moving coaching search with few twists and turns.
Here are some candidates to watch:

Candidates To Watch

Brian O’Connor, Virginia
O’Connor, 53, recently guided the Cavaliers to their seventh College World Series appearance during his tenure, along with an impressive 46-17 overall record. O’Connor also has guided the Cavaliers to 39 wins, 50 wins and 46 wins the past three seasons, while also leading the program to their first and only national title in 2015. O’Connor did recently sign a contract extension with UVa., but sources say his buyout is more than manageable should the Aggies decide to pounce. O’Connor is a family man and would need plenty of assurances to head to College Station, but if the Aggies can’t nab a Tony Vitello type, he should be next on the list.
Link Jarrett, Florida State
Jarrett, 52, is a former Florida State player and had a very close relationship with the late legendary coach Mike Martin. That means Jarrett would be tough to pull out of Tallahassee, but the Aggies would be crazy not to kick the tires on this one. Jarrett is a fantastic coach who guided Notre Dame to the College World Series back in 2022, while also leading FSU back to Omaha in his second season this past spring. Jarrett would check a lot of boxes, and is someone I consider to be an incredible coach.
Cliff Godwin, East Carolina
Godwin, 46, has rebuffed at least a couple of SEC jobs at this point. He truly loves East Carolina, and why wouldn’t you considering its awesome fan base. However, could a move to the Lone Star State with a program loaded with NIL money get him to reconsider his current situation? Godwin has spent the last 10 seasons as the head man for the Pirates and has not won less than 44 games since 2017. His hard-nosed, blue-collar mentality would be a good fit at A&M.
Dan Heefner, Dallas Baptist
I do think the Aggies would have to exhaust a couple of candidates to get to Heefner, but he is an outstanding head coach. Heefner has guided the Patriots to 13 NCAA tournament appearances, including a Super Regional appearance in 2011 and 10-straight tournament appearances. Heefner has long been considered an excellent evaluator and head coach. It would be intriguing to see what Heef could do with a program with A&M’s resources. He has won at an elite level at a private Baptist institution in Dallas. One must wonder what he could do with one of the top budgets in college athletics.
Nick Mingione, Kentucky
Mingione truly loves being the head coach in the Bluegrass State, but there’s zero doubt that winning at a high level is easier in the Lone Star State. Mingione, 45, has spent the last eight seasons as the head man for the Wildcats. During that time, he has guided the Wildcats to three NCAA tourney appearances, including two NCAA Super Regional appearances.
Rob Vaughn, Alabama
One of my personal favorites, I think Vaughn, 36, is a fantastic head coach who could achieve rock star status at a place like Texas or Texas A&M. Vaughn won 48 and 42 games, respectively, his final two seasons at Maryland before going 33-24 overall with an NCAA Regional appearance at Alabama this past season. Vaughn is a Corpus Christi, Texas, native and would be movable for the Aggies.
Discuss this story and more on the D1Baseball Forums!