12Power said:

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I dunno. Our pitching coach has been an HC. I don't think he is that good at either.

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We rank very good nationally in pitching. Pitching is not our problem. We scored 35% more runs in sec play in 2024. That's the problem. Not having Grahovac all year, and Sorrell out most of the year has been a major factor. I just saw we are fielding at .974, that is good. Score more runs starting tonight, which means don't K with RISP

Me too

Texas_Ag11 said:

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When has A&M ever been rewarded for giving a coach another year? In any sport? I'm being serious - I can't name one. Fact is once the fanbase is having this argument and dividing up sides, the cake is already baked. 100% record as far as I can remember.

The thing I really love about A&M the university is the steep loyalty that all Aggies feel for each other. It's also one of the things that drives me crazy about our coaching decisions. We show loyalty to coaches, many for no reason. Michael Earley has not earned another year. We can all agree to that. So, why exactly are we all freely giving him that extra year? For loyalty? I will say, for me, had Mike stuck around around when POS ditched and Mike got the job, this would be a different discussion. But Mike bailed on us and only came back after the players put us over a barrel. In other words, if you are giving the guy another year for that well entrenched Aggie loyalty, I would ask why are we loyal to Mike when he wasn't loyal to us? Mike's been a disaster. Mike knows it. Heck, Mike probably thinks he is going to get fired. He has to know that he deserves to be fired.

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Childress went 25-30, then made a super the next year. Douchnazzle went 38-27 then ended up in the cws finals the next year. You cant just knee jerk fire anyone after one year, create that culture and reputable coaches wouldnt even show up for the interview.

Our first year under Schloss we were the #5 national seed and made it to the CWS semifinals. I think you may have your years confused.

Another fear rational for making a decision. Never a great idea.

I think they might understand why. And if they are at the level we need to be hiring they will not be concerned with what Earley brought on to himself.

Wabs said:

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Wattson Stumjack said:

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Thank God, some people with money and sense are trying to fix it rather than just hope he gets better down the line.

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You sure of this?

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I hope this is based on some actual insider info, and not just wishful thinking. I've posted the numbers already several times so I won't again, but I don't think many people on this board want to admit how much short-term costs will come into this decision. Last year was the most successful in A&M baseball history, and the program lost $3.6 million. Firing Earley adds $3 million, plus whatever it takes to lure a new coach, to the wrong side of the ledger. Keeping Earley will reduce revenue if we suck next year and attendance decreases - but it doesn't have the guaranteed, immediate costs we would incur if we fire him. I think we've seen enough that it's time to move on, but I also think he gets another year unless some BMAs step up. It's ridiculous we gave a fully guaranteed contract to a coach that was essentially a long shot hire, but that's another story.

Fairview20 said:

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Our first year under Schloss we were the #5 national seed and made it to the CWS semifinals. I think you may have your years confused.

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Sorry, i was thinking year two.

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I'm willing to bet "discipline" had nothing to do with the results. Or the fact he was "nice". This roster is just not good, minus a couple guys. We now have zero [healthy] guys who started for all of last year's team at the plate. And a bullpen that's awful. Suggesting our hitting coach of the last 3 years is the reason why we suck in his 4th year sounds loony. And as for the Sips, they're all complaining how awful their current hitting is over the last 10 games. Schloss is obviously not the hitting-coach guru.

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Discipline, focus, whatever you want to call it, this team doesn't have it. Earley has frequently lamented our swing selection at the plate.

The roster we are running out there today is much weaker than what we ran out for most of the season, but your talent assessment is simply wrong. Schloss would have gladly swapped lineups, at least so long as we had Sorrell and Laviolette.

Aston 91 said:

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Wabs said:

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Wattson Stumjack said:

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Thank God, some people with money and sense are trying to fix it rather than just hope he gets better down the line.

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You sure of this?

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I hope this is based on some actual insider info, and not just wishful thinking. I've posted the numbers already several times so I won't again, but I don't think many people on this board want to admit how much short-term costs will come into this decision. Last year was the most successful in A&M baseball history, and the program lost $3.6 million. Firing Earley adds $3 million, plus whatever it takes to lure a new coach, to the wrong side of the ledger. Keeping Earley will reduce revenue if we suck next year and attendance decreases - but it doesn't have the guaranteed, immediate costs we would incur if we fire him. I think we've seen enough that it's time to move on, but I also think he gets another year unless some BMAs step up. It's ridiculous we gave a fully guaranteed contract to a coach that was essentially a long shot hire, but that's another story.

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Not to mention the names everyone is mentioning have hefty contracts to buy out.

Just like in a football a rich Ag or rich Ags that care about baseball will make this a non factor. As I have told you, there are two sports at A&M this occurs and now with Texas in the SEC, these power Ags will not mess around. Especially with what Texas and Schloss did last summer.

I'm sorry you do not lose at home to Mizzou. That was inexcusable that Mizzou team is horrible and the Friday night loss to them was one of the worst losses in A&M sports history. That was like losing to a NAIA or juco team. I was fully behind him until that series but if he stays it will fine, but those losses opened the door to be let go IMO.
I keep hearing O'Connor,
If they do let him go they better talk to the KU coach Fitzgerald.

LB12Diamond said:

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Just like in a football a rich Ag or rich Ags that care about baseball will make this a non factor. As I have told you, there are two sports at A&M this occurs and now with Texas in the SEC, these power Ags will not mess around. Especially with what Texas and Schloss did last summer.

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You cant compare football to baseball. That donor pool has way deeper pockets.

You want to make a wager that Earley is gone?

You do realize Trev needed a lot of money to keep all the roster in tact last summer, and he got it. It was not just bc he hired their buddy.

Hear, hear!

LB12Diamond said:

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You want to make a wager that Earley is gone?

You do realize Trev needed a lot of money to keep all the roster in tact last summer, and he got it. It was not just bc he hired their buddy.

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Honest question, but do you think that the lack of return on the NIL money from last year makes it more or less likely for the big baseball donors to step up with $$$ to get rid of the coach? I have zero connections to big donors so no idea what their mindset would be in this situation.

phatty26 said:

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I'm sorry you do not lose at home to Mizzou. That was inexcusable that Mizzou team is horrible and the Friday night loss to them was one of the worst losses in A&M sports history. That was like losing to a NAIA or juco team. I was fully behind him until that series but if he stays it will fine, but those losses opened the door to be let go IMO.
I keep hearing O'Connor,
If they do let him go they better talk to the KU coach Fitzgerald.

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I get it, but you take the series against Ten, LSU, and Ark. with your form of thinking we would have 1 and done coaches in every sport. Hell Schlos lost a series to fkn Portland at home in 2023.

LB12Diamond said:

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You want to make a wager that Earley is gone?

You do realize Trev needed a lot of money to keep all the roster in tact last summer, and he got it. It was not just bc he hired their buddy.

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I never said whether he was gone or not. I just said give him another year and fire Longley.

I think there's about a 65% chance he's back. And if he is I think there's a 50/50 chance he improves. But I also think there's a 50/50 chance he flails wildly in the other direction and overcompensates from his "players coach" persona because that fell flat in 2025.

And that's the issue with this hire. We are not in a position where someone should have to learn, starting from ground zero, on the job. Being the boss sucks. Hiring people sucks. Firing people sucks. But admitting that you made a mistake and cutting your losses is a key part of being a manager.

I still believe Earley can, heck WILL, be a good head coach. But I think it he has a lot to learn over the next 6-10 years to get there. And I don't believe this program should be willing to wait that amount of time. It doesn't mean I don't like him as a person, or I think he's incapable, it's that I think he needs to go hone his craft at a smaller school, make mistakes, learn and then be ready for a premium job. There's a reason that's the normal path. ... because it works

I wasn't saying our pitching is bad. We have a very good pitching staff. I was saying Kelly is not good at HC or PC. I am judging that on predictable pitch calls and bad pitcher management. Also, if he is guiding Early with his HC experience, it is not good.

tigerag said:

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twk said:

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There are 3 million reasons not to fire Earley, and only one reason to make a change: if you believe that retaining Ealrey will not lead to us getting the program to the level it is capable of.

Rob Childress showed us that this program is good enough that we should make the NCAA tournament even in a down year. Schlossnagle showed us that, properly lead, we can win the CWS.

Earley managed to take a roster that, even with injuries, I would argue would have more talented than all but one or two of the teams that Childress fielded, and put us in a position where we are hoping the committee sets a precedent for how low of an RPI an SEC team can get away with. We are the worst hitting team in the SEC, and there are probably 10 SEC head coaches who would have gladly swapped rosters with us (including the POS in Austin) even without Grahovac and Stewart. You can't chalk that up to rookie coaching.

Maybe the problem is that Earley was too close to this group of players to instill the kind of discipline that needs to come from the head coach. If that was the problem this year, it will still be the case next year. I suspect that Earley could have done better with a less talented roster at another school, where the players didn't think of him as their buddy Mike, but we are not going to be able to find that out, even next year.

Earley did not have the resume to even get an interview when the opening came up last year, but he got one because the players lobbied for him to get the job (and gave the impression that they would leave if he didn't get it). So, it was a hire made under duress, and not a freely made choice to hire an up and comer. The fact is, this program has progressed to the point where, under normal circumstances, we should expect to be able to hire an experienced coach whenever we have an opening.

Still, I would like for us to keep winning and take the decision out of Alberts's hands (we aren't firing a coach that makes the tournament) and go on an improbable run in the postseason. But, if that doesn't come to pass, I think we should conduct the thorough coaching search this year that we didn't get to do last year.

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Best baseball guy on this board. Listen to him.

Quit riding the roller coaster derm

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Twk is my designated driver and consigliere. And a great friend. His baseball knowledge is unsurpassed.

We rank where we do with "seasoned" pitchers that were under Weiner's tutelage. Starting from scratch, I don't know what Kelly will be able to do.

twk is about as knowledgeable as any poster on this forum. I will have to go with what he posted.

twk said:

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There are 3 million reasons not to fire Earley, and only one reason to make a change: if you believe that retaining Ealrey will not lead to us getting the program to the level it is capable of.

Rob Childress showed us that this program is good enough that we should make the NCAA tournament even in a down year. Schlossnagle showed us that, properly lead, we can win the CWS.

Earley managed to take a roster that, even with injuries, I would argue would have more talented than all but one or two of the teams that Childress fielded, and put us in a position where we are hoping the committee sets a precedent for how low of an RPI an SEC team can get away with. We are the worst hitting team in the SEC, and there are probably 10 SEC head coaches who would have gladly swapped rosters with us (including the POS in Austin) even without Grahovac and Stewart. You can't chalk that up to rookie coaching.

Maybe the problem is that Earley was too close to this group of players to instill the kind of discipline that needs to come from the head coach. If that was the problem this year, it will still be the case next year. I suspect that Earley could have done better with a less talented roster at another school, where the players didn't think of him as their buddy Mike, but we are not going to be able to find that out, even next year.

Earley did not have the resume to even get an interview when the opening came up last year, but he got one because the players lobbied for him to get the job (and gave the impression that they would leave if he didn't get it). So, it was a hire made under duress, and not a freely made choice to hire an up and comer. The fact is, this program has progressed to the point where, under normal circumstances, we should expect to be able to hire an experienced coach whenever we have an opening.

Still, I would like for us to keep winning and take the decision out of Alberts's hands (we aren't firing a coach that makes the tournament) and go on an improbable run in the postseason. But, if that doesn't come to pass, I think we should conduct the thorough coaching search this year that we didn't get to do last year.

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I'm with this guy.

Quote:

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Twk is my designated driver and consigliere. And a great friend. His baseball knowledge is unsurpassed.

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I only hang out with the best people…especially if they like picking up the check at a meal.

IslanderAg04 said:

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phatty26 said:

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I'm sorry you do not lose at home to Mizzou. That was inexcusable that Mizzou team is horrible and the Friday night loss to them was one of the worst losses in A&M sports history. That was like losing to a NAIA or juco team. I was fully behind him until that series but if he stays it will fine, but those losses opened the door to be let go IMO.
I keep hearing O'Connor,
If they do let him go they better talk to the KU coach Fitzgerald.

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I get it, but you take the series against Ten, LSU, and Ark. with your form of thinking we would have 1 and done coaches in every sport. Hell Schlos lost a series to fkn Portland at home in 2023.

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You are absolutely correct that you have to take the entire season as a whole. You can't pick and choose which weekends count and which ones don't. Unfortunately we had a lot of really bad weekends this year. Getting swept 4 times and twice at home is completely unacceptable. As is losing 19 SEC games, and 4-5 games vs mid majors.

I think most reasonable fans would have some grace if we slightly underwhelmed this year and didn't host. If we had a similar season to Ole Miss or even Florida I think most would be fine being a strong 2 seed. It would be disappointing given the expectations, but he is a first year HC so growing pains should've been expected.

What we got was a lot worse though, and outside of some outstanding weekends it was mostly bad. We will see if this weekend is another good one.

my biggest concern with Earley is we continue to be so bad at the basics… i watched Tenn vs Texas.. night and day difference from us. One simple example.. Texas hitting, 2 outs no one on, Texas sees defense playing back, guy drops a bunt base hit down, starts a small rally… we have no clue how to take advantage of what the defense is giving us, ever… the fundamentals of how we play defense, who's covering the bag, just terrible baseball quite often… what did we do last Fall?.. what do we do outside of the 9 innings?

I mean if he was an normal hire, you give him another year but he wasn't a normal hire. He was a hail mary that failed. The program was in a hostage situation. You cannot treat the earley hire like one where we had time to truly go through a hiring process and vet candidates.

Even if Earley makes regional and survives another year, he won't be able to survive next year with a weaker roster and him still not being ready to be HC.

There is a reason KR was putting out there that earley was not guaranteed to come back if the team continued to struggle (as far back as late march/early april).

I think they had a plan (one that they hoped they didn't have to use) if things went south. And they went south. The money thing goes away if some big donors want it to, and our donors love baseball way more than soccer or wbb.

Yes the Mizzou sweep was bad, but people forget that in 2023, if it had not been for Olsen magic, the Aggies would have been swept at home by Portland. The first two games in that series were not competitive.

Sometimes baseball does crazy things. I don't remember people calling for Schloss to be fired after that series like Earley has been this year.

While there wasn't the pressure of #1 preseason rankings, we were coming off winning more games in Omaha than ever before.

It would be absolute insanity at the highest level to keep Earley. We are not a place that should ever accept this type of season. Shame on dermdoc for even starting this thread. Get out of here with that nonsense. Have some pride. Damn. Aggies will continue to get what we accept. Keep accepting losers and we'll continue to lose.

Nope. Go train elsewhere.

Nombre said:

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It would be absolute insanity at the highest level to keep Earley. We are not a place that should ever accept this type of season. Shame on dermdoc for even starting this thread. Get out of here with that nonsense. Have some pride. Damn. Aggies will continue to get what we accept. Keep accepting losers and we'll continue to lose.

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I have the right to my opinion. As do you.

Why the personal attacks?

Edited it to add that if you know me in real life you probably have the right to make this point.

BTHO LSU!

Wattson Stumjack said:

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I mean if he was an normal hire, you give him another year but he wasn't a normal hire. He was a hail mary that failed. The program was in a hostage situation. You cannot treat the earley hire like one where we had time to truly go through a hiring process and vet candidates.

Even if Earley makes regional and survives another year, he won't be able to survive next year with a weaker roster and him still not being ready to be HC.

There is a reason KR was putting out there that earley was not guaranteed to come back if the team continued to struggle (as far back as late march/early april).

I think they had a plan (one that they hoped they didn't have to use) if things went south. And they went south. The money thing goes away if some big donors want it to, and our donors love baseball way more than soccer or wbb.

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We shouldn't put too much weight on Kendall's unsubstantiated and unrevealed sources…that's arguing from ignorance and is a form of appeal to expertise rhetorical fallacy.

CrocsAg20 said:

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Anybody with legitimate head coaching experience would be an upgrade.

What happens when coach returns and we have another year like this one, or worse?

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That's a really good question. I'll just volley that question back at you…what happens then exactly???

A big difference is because Schloss had a lot of skins on the wall and had already shown proof of concept the year before.

Earley the HC has no skins on the wall because this is his first season.

That Portland team was also #106 in RPI that year so they were better than 2025 Mizzou. And it was not an SEC series so the stakes naturally were not as high, despite it being a terrible result.

Jdb101808 said:

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AgBQ-00 said:

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posted this in the premium thread and wanted to post here as well

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I think that is part of hiring a first time head coach. You have to be willing to weather the growing pains. I've been disappointed in the year overall, love the fight of the team and am flabbergasted by their streakiness. The most disappointing thing is the vile behavior and abuse thrown about by many in our fanbase. It has caused me to watch this year solo rather than interacting on the boards. But rooting for the best and hope we get to see this team keep playing for a few more weeks.

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I agree.. I am for Earley... was this year disappointing and just plain head scratching at some points... yes for sure.. not denying that at all... BUT .. I feel that Earley just like any other coach that would have came in and not had a good year, you give it 2 seasons... I know some folks will holler and say NO ... one and done, but if that's the case, especially with us, you loose, recruiting, you loose some players that would have stayed, etc.... and then there is also the money aspect.....

Also, what if we get rid of Earley, and he is picked up by another team and from here on out he and his teams are top notch and whoever we bring in in his place ends up being no better or worse even... then it is no better or worse than if we would have kept Earley... ( and yes i know that is a hypothetical) but it is a thought...

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It's almost a given of we cut him loose.