Takeaway from the article:

1. Nothing lasts forever
2. The past is in the past
3. When you catch lightning in a bottle, you better hammer people over the head with the bottle for as long as you can.
4. Talent evaluation, recruiting, and player development are the constant in this equation.

I posted on another thread that Tony Vitello would be someone who should get a serious look from the Aggies. Based on this criteria he may be the best candidate. His recruiting produced the best teams Missouri and TCU have fielded in the last half century. Probably the best TCU has ever had. Both have fallen off since his players have cycled out. He was also the recruiting coordinator at Arkansas before he got the head job at Tennessee. The players he recruited at Arkansas have been to multiple CWS. Vitello has also turned a Tennessee program around that had been down for a decade and really only had a few good years in their history started by Rod Del Monaco with players like Todd Helton and Chris Burke. When they got rid of him, they bought in a California guy (proven head coach on the west coast) who fell flat on his face. They had been awful leading up to Vitello's arrival and made the tournament in his second year going just as far as the Aggies.
Not saying he should be the only consideration, but he can really recruit (and has done so in Texas for over 15 years), has seen first hand the culture at TCU and Arkansas, and has been around enough to build a pretty large network that would allow him to put together a quality staff. Would say he could easily upgrade what the Aggies have in place right now as far as staff. From what I have heard about him he is a hard worker and players really like him. In addition, the Aggies could probably get him away from Tennessee for less than they are paying Childress right now.
Regardless of what the Aggies do, I would be surprised if he doesn't take a team to the CWS in the next few years. Could be Tennessee, but I bet one of the big boys pays him to leave in the next couple of years.

I don't think we make a change this year, but Vitello would merit a serious look.

Jock 07 said:

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Who is Eric and why is he in Scottsdale?

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I live in Scottsdale and am part of the media. and enjoying calling into Husker radio shows. I also do sports reporting & break news through my various sources

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greenyjoe said:

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Soooo he's the Husker version of Jim from Tuscaloosa?

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Purple

technoviking said:

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Please be RC. Please please please

Rice and Tech did great hiring a JUCO coach. Maybe that is the way to go. The McLennan CC coach has been mentioned as he has had a really good run. Maybe another JUCO coach who I have not heard about.

Mitch Thompson at McLennan is an amazing coach when it comes to recruiting and identifying talent. He helped put together the amazing KC Royals team a few years ago, but I know a couple players who went to play for him (family and teammates) so I've seen It from the inside and I am confident that this would not be a very good move.

Edit to clarify: Mitch was a scout for the Royals

One question I had about Childress and his tied to A&M, how come his daughter went to Nebraska? Would have figured she'd wind up at A&M or another Texas school after presumably growing up in college station. Maybe her major wasn't offered at A&M?

Sometimes 18 yr old kids want to go away to college.

My oldest sister's daughter can not get far enough away from California to go to school.

jkag89 said:

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My oldest sister's daughter can not get far enough away from California to go to school.

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Don't most smart people wanna get far away from that cesspool of a state?

Dgrimesag92 said:

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jkag89 said:

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My oldest sister's daughter can not get far enough away from California to go to school.

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Don't most smart people wanna get far away from that cesspool of a state?

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She is pretty apolitical.

My middle sister's boy wanted to go to a school in Cali (family lives in Texas) if he did not get into Colorado Springs. In general they don't let idiots into the AFA.

jkag89 said:

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Dgrimesag92 said:

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jkag89 said:

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My oldest sister's daughter can not get far enough away from California to go to school.

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Don't most smart people wanna get far away from that cesspool of a state?

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She is pretty apolitical.

My middle sister's boy wanted to go to a school in Cali (family lives in Texas) if he did not get into Colorado Springs. In general they don't let idiots into the AFA.

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Good luck to him at San Jose St!

jkag89 said:

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Sometimes 18 yr old kids want to go away to college.

My oldest sister's daughter can not get far enough away from California to go to school.

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True, but she RETURNED to Nebraska where she left when she was in elementary school? Was that just coincidence?

I've been wondering this since I heard about the whole graduation thing. Not that it matters much, just interested in knowing why.

I will say this again, RC is a good coach but his record of success pales in comparison to multiple in-state coaches and programs, as well as conference ones. It is not even close.

He could dominate at NU but will never get over the hump here because so many coaches in the region are just better.

W said:

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so Mississippi State gets to Omaha with a 1st year head coach.

don't be afraid of change

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State also went last year with an interim coach because the head coach was fired for being a dewsh. Just because MSU still kept rolling does not mean a change at A&M will be for the better, Clemson fried long time coach Jack Leggett (six appearances in Omaha) for not getting out of the Regional round five straight seasons, the replacement Monte Lee hasn't gotten the Tigers out of the Regional round in all four of his seasons.

W said:

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so Mississippi State gets to Omaha with a 1st year head coach.

don't be afraid of change

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And they hired a hell of a coach. Indiana was SOLID under Lemonis and now Lemonis is at a program that actually gives a **** about baseball.

91AggieLawyer said:

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jkag89 said:

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Sometimes 18 yr old kids want to go away to college.

My oldest sister's daughter can not get far enough away from California to go to school.

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True, but she RETURNED to Nebraska where she left when she was in elementary school? Was that just coincidence?

I've been wondering this since I heard about the whole graduation thing. Not that it matters much, just interested in knowing why.

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I doubt it was a coincidence, the Childress family likely still has friends in Nebraska. Would not doubt RC's daughter spent time up there during the summer time when growing up.

EMIN was WOW! said:

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jkag89 said:

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W said:

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so Mississippi State gets to Omaha with a 1st year head coach.

don't be afraid of change

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State also went last year with an interim coach because the head coach was fired for being a dewsh. Just because MSU still kept rolling does not mean a change at A&M will be for the better, Clemson fried long time coach Jack Leggett (six appearances in Omaha) for not getting out of the Regional round five straight seasons, the replacement Monte Lee hasn't gotten the Tigers out of the Regional round in all four of his seasons.

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So we should trail behind our in state and conference peers, just because the next guy might be worse? You know you can fire him too if sucks. .

Childress is being boat raced by the instate schools as usual. In the beginning of his tenure it was rice and tu. Now it is tech and tcu. And that doesn't even get into how much better most of the conference programs are compared to ours with him at the helm.

Both Childress and A&M need a fresh start. If he stays around another 5 years, he will decline like Johnson did, missing the postseason. Then he will be fired. He is not going to have a breakthrough after 14 years here. He has not adjusted as a HC much at all. NU would be great for him.

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I'm not arguing to retain RC, I was merely pointing out that dumping RC will not necessarily mean a renaissance for Fightin' Texas Aggie Baseball. If he is using the Huskers job to get a better deal at A&M, I say let him go.

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At this point, it's being against change for the sake of being against change, which is kind of one of our worst Aggie traditions.

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This.

Now that I'm thinking about the fact that Bianco at Ole Miss has been hanging around there while posting similar performances to Childress, and how Bjork never fired him in like 5 years at Ole Miss, I doubt he will fire RC ever, so long as RC continues to post these numbers.

Alpha Texan said:

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Now that I'm thinking about the fact that Bianco at Ole Miss has been hanging around there while posting similar performances to Childress, and how Bjork never fired him in like 5 years at Ole Miss, I doubt he will fire RC ever, so long as RC continues to post these numbers.

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Time will tell, of course; but we shouldn't be shocked if Bjork keeps RC for years to come. The precedent is certainly there. In the end, Im a firm believer that what an AD does is mostly dictated by what the big money donors want and Ross would be much the same. The further down we go in the sports hierarchy, the less big money donors care no matter where you are. I dont think our alumni base is much different in that regard and Im not convinced that our money base cares more about baseball than LSU, Arky or the Mississippi schools (though I may be proven wrong soon enough).

EMIN was WOW! said:

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Quote:

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At this point, it's being against change for the sake of being against change, which is kind of one of our worst Aggie traditions.

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This.

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That keeps being repeated over and over and still anyone has yet to tell me a single school that's fired 4 football coaches in 15 years. Or fired 3 coaches in 10 years. If it's such a tradition, why have we fired more coaches than every team out there in the last 15 years? I guess Arkansas did, but one of them was due to off-field issues, not performance (and that led to an emergency hire who lasted only a year, further muddying their waters). Anyone else?

In addition, A&M just paid the 3rd highest buyout in the history of college athletics in order to make a change.

For a school that supposedly has a tradition of not making change, A&M has made quite a bit of history in that department.

BoozingAg said:

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jkag89 said:

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EMIN was WOW! said:

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jkag89 said:

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W said:

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so Mississippi State gets to Omaha with a 1st year head coach.

don't be afraid of change

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State also went last year with an interim coach because the head coach was fired for being a dewsh. Just because MSU still kept rolling does not mean a change at A&M will be for the better, Clemson fried long time coach Jack Leggett (six appearances in Omaha) for not getting out of the Regional round five straight seasons, the replacement Monte Lee hasn't gotten the Tigers out of the Regional round in all four of his seasons.

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So we should trail behind our in state and conference peers, just because the next guy might be worse? You know you can fire him too if sucks. .

Childress is being boat raced by the instate schools as usual. In the beginning of his tenure it was rice and tu. Now it is tech and tcu. And that doesn't even get into how much better most of the conference programs are compared to ours with him at the helm.

Both Childress and A&M need a fresh start. If he stays around another 5 years, he will decline like Johnson did, missing the postseason. Then he will be fired. He is not going to have a breakthrough after 14 years here. He has not adjusted as a HC much at all. NU would be great for him.

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I'm not arguing to retain RC, I was merely pointing out that dumping RC will not necessarily mean a renaissance for Fightin' Texas Aggie Baseball. If he is using the Huskers job to get a better deal at A&M, I say let him go.

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I guarantee there won't be a renaissance if he stays. This "change for the sake of change" angle doesn't really work any more. At this point, it's being against change for the sake of being against change, which is kind of one of our worst Aggie traditions.

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A change maybe exactly what both A&M and RC need. The Gators did let go of Andy Lopez (who did have success at Florida) and after six seasons under Pat McMahon (initially had results similar to Lopez, final two seasons ,500 ball) hired Sully who has taken Florida to elite status but Lopez did get a second CWS Championship at Arizona (his first at Pepperdine) before the Gators got their first.

Aggies2009 said:

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EMIN was WOW! said:

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Quote:

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At this point, it's being against change for the sake of being against change, which is kind of one of our worst Aggie traditions.

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This.

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That keeps being repeated over and over and still anyone has yet to tell me a single school that's fired 4 football coaches in 15 years. Or fired 3 coaches in 10 years. If it's such a tradition, why have we fired more coaches than every team out there in the last 15 years? I guess Arkansas did, but one of them was due to off-field issues, not performance (and that led to an emergency hire who lasted only a year, further muddying their waters). Anyone else?

In addition, A&M just paid the 3rd highest buyout in the history of college athletics in order to make a change.

For a school that supposedly has a tradition of not making change, A&M has made quite a bit of history in that department.

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Fran, Sumlin, and Sherman weren't here long enough or won enough to really get that fixture status we so love. BK was kept around for reasons that had nothing to do with basketball and was given every opportunity to succeed including a revolving door of assistants, just so we wouldn't have to make a HC change.

People went crazy over the fact Slocum was named AD for not other reason than he is a familiar face.

A&M has no one to blame but themselves for that ridiculous buyout they paid Sumlin.