Chris Del Conte's first major coaching change..?

[JHop6714]

Will it be the softball coach?

Most every other program seems to be chugging along just fine. Football and men's basketball may get problematic in 1-2 years. Women's basketball and volleyball going strong. Baseball doing quite well by the end of the season.

But softball hasn't had a stellar season in several years, and we are consistently beat out in recruiting, despite having great players in the Austin area. Oklahoma is a dynasty. We have a legend in Cat Osterman who is coaching up the street. Coach Connie Clark's contract runs out this year. What will the team have to do in the postseason (tournament starts for UT tomorrow night) to save Connie's job? Will this be CDC's first big change?

 

[LonghornMM]

Connie Clark should have been replaced several years ago. Her teams seem to underachieve and play down to the level of competition of who they are playing.

 

[CAHorn47]

Will it be the softball coach?

Most every other program seems to be chugging along just fine. Football and men's basketball may get problematic in 1-2 years. Women's basketball and volleyball going strong. Baseball doing quite well by the end of the season.

But softball hasn't had a stellar season in several years, and we are consistently beat out in recruiting, despite having great players in the Austin area. Oklahoma is a dynasty. We have a legend in Cat Osterman who is coaching up the street. Coach Connie Clark's contract runs out this year. What will the team have to do in the postseason (tournament starts for UT tomorrow night) to save Connie's job? Will this be CDC's first big change?

"Football may get problematic in 1-2 years"??? Are you smokin' crack???

 

[CAHorn47]

Connie Clark should have been replaced several years ago. Her teams seem to underachieve and play down to the level of competition of who they are playing.

Plonsky has to go for Clark to go...

 

[JHop6714]

"Football may get problematic in 1-2 years"??? Are you smokin' crack???

I think if the football team does worse in 2018 than they did in 2017, and doesn't show an upward trend going into 2019, there will be significant pressure on CDC to look for a new football coach.

 

[JHop6714]

Plonsky has to go for Clark to go...

One of the best things about CDC is that he was hired as director of Men's AND Women's Athletics, without a separate AD for each one. I think this allows him to make a decision like not renewing Connie Clark's contract regardless of what Chris Plonsky thinks.

Softball's record:
2018* 32-24
2017 33-26
2016 38-16
2015 38-17
2014 35-23
2013 51-10 and WCWS (this team featured Connie's only stellar recruiting class outside of Cat Osterman)

 

[FlourBluffHorn]

I think if the football team does worse in 2018 than they did in 2017, and doesn't show an upward trend going into 2019, there will be significant pressure on CDC to look for a new football coach.

Like MM says ya gotta give him the chance!


Hook'em

 

[JHop6714]

Like MM says ya gotta give him the chance!


Hook'em

Not sure what the pushback is on this. To clarify: I do not believe Herman's job is or should be in jeopardy. I'm merely saying that CDC could have pressure, if the season goes poorly, to start looking. I think most of the other coaches have enough of legacy to endure a few poor seasons before their jobs being in jeopardy. That's why I said basketball and football could be a sore spot (potentially) in 1-2 years.

 

[Oldmanastro]

Smart will feel heat waaayyy before Herman.

 

[mm42]

I think if the football team does worse in 2018 than they did in 2017, and doesn't show an upward trend going into 2019, there will be significant pressure on CDC to look for a new football coach.

As long as Herman wins 8+ he is fine. I really doubt that is a problem. Nobody expects a BIG12 championship this year.

 

[2300 Nueces]

Not sure what the pushback is on this. To clarify: I do not believe Herman's job is or should be in jeopardy. I'm merely saying that CDC could have pressure, if the season goes poorly, to start looking. I think most of the other coaches have enough of legacy to endure a few poor seasons before their jobs being in jeopardy. That's why I said basketball and football could be a sore spot (potentially) in 1-2 years.

I'm not understanding the football comment. Will we lose some this year? Sure. I think 7-8 wins this season is doable with a bowl win. Now Shaka Smart.... He is a disaster. I see no reason for optimism here.

 

[cml7374]

I don't see the Football team being worse in 2018.

 

[ryan_sublett]

Smart will feel heat waaayyy before Herman.

That’s probably true. Unless we lose to Maryland this year. Then it probably gets pretty hot around Herman.

 

[HornDrummer]

As long as Herman wins 8+ he is fine. I really doubt that is a problem. Nobody expects a BIG12 championship this year.

Guess I’m the only one who does.

 

[LongfellowDrew]

How did we get on Herman possibly being CDC's first coaching change or possible? I'm thinking softball, basketball, horseshoes, badminton etc.. before Herman even is brought up.

 

[2300 Nueces]

How did we get on Herman possibly being CDC's first coaching change or possible? I'm thinking softball, basketball, horseshoes, badminton etc.. before Herman even is brought up.

I agree. Herman has a plan and one can see it through his recruiting process and success. It will take time as he is still building the oline. It took some time to weed out the bad apples and now the arrows are heading up. I'll take Vegas odds over jhop odds. Vegas has us knocking on the door of the top 10.


http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-football/odds/futures/

 

[LonghornMM]

I agree. Herman has a plan and one can see it through his recruiting process and success. It will take time as he is still building the oline. It took some time to weed out the bad apples and now the arrows are heading up. I'll take Vegas odds over jhop odds. Vegas has us knocking on the door of the top 10.


http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-football/odds/futures/

Exactly. Herman is a 10X upgrade over Strong. If someone can't see Herman working, they don't know football.

 

[JHop6714]

LOL. I never predicted our football team doing worse than we did in 2018 and I never predicted Herman being the first coaching change. All I said was that there is a *potential* if things go south. Remember that no one went into Charlie Strong year 2 thinking his job was in trouble, and a week one slashing changed all that. I personally think football will win 8-9 wins this year and Herman will be just fine. But IF we win less than 7, pressure will mount.

But we digress, that wasn't the point of this thread. I don't anticipate football being the first big change CDC has to make. Men's basketball will probably happen long before a football change, unless Shaka turns it around in a hurry. But I think the first change could happen as soon as next week if the softball team loses tonight.

 

[Blackcat00]

Needs to be Connie Clark, she is stealing money from the University. Program is stale as week old couch pizza.

 

[Blackcat00]

LOL. I never predicted our football team doing worse than we did in 2018 and I never predicted Herman being the first coaching change. All I said was that there is a *potential* if things go south. Remember that no one went into Charlie Strong year 2 thinking his job was in trouble, and a week one slashing changed all that. I personally think football will win 8-9 wins this year and Herman will be just fine. But IF we win less than 7, pressure will mount.

But we digress, that wasn't the point of this thread. I don't anticipate football being the first big change CDC has to make. Men's basketball will probably happen long before a football change, unless Shaka turns it around in a hurry. But I think the first change could happen as soon as next week if the softball team loses tonight.

Does anyone have VIP access to 247? They have an article with insight about Coach Clark:
https://247sports.com/college/texas...rk-Cat-Osterman-potential-candidate-118294724

This Texas team is much improved than Strongs team in year 2.
It is not even close.

 

[ryan_sublett]

8 games is just winning the games Texas is supposed to win, and pulling off one maybe you shouldn’t. So that’s not really that big an expectation and should be pretty achievable especially with the conference potentially down a bit. If it doesn’t happen it will get a little hot for Herman but as long as there are no bad losses 8 wins should be very achievable.

 

[outhereincali]

Guess I’m the only one who does.

No. Actuality there are 2 of us .

 

[2300 Nueces]

8 games is just winning the games Texas is supposed to win, and pulling off one maybe you shouldn’t. So that’s not really that big an expectation and should be pretty achievable especially with the conference potentially down a bit. If it doesn’t happen it will get a little hot for Herman but as long as there are no bad losses 8 wins should be very achievable.

Ahhh, just snuffed the rooster.

 

[BringBackRoyal]

I wish Connie Clark had been fired on CDC’s first day. Any coach who says that she has a policy against recruiting any player committed to another school should get her walking papers about 30 seconds later.

But I’ll settle for him sh*tcanning her lazy ass after the season.

 

[ryan_sublett]

I wish Connie Clark had been fired on CDC’s first day. Any coach who says that she has a policy against recruiting any player committed to another school should get her walking papers about 30 seconds later.

But I’ll settle for him sh*tcanning her lazy ass after the season.

She actually has that policy?

 

[ASURAM2010]

She actually has that policy?

Apparently! We are pretty good friends with the local D2 softball coach here and he said that is the dumbest thing that you could ever do. There is so much talent in that area that you should be fielding a top 15 team just from kids within a short drive of the stadium. Unreal! It helps when one of your really good friends is your AD

 

[JHop6714]

It's really sad how much amazing talent there is in the Texas area that gets 'wasted' by us not recruiting them. And look, despite me hoping every great player for every sport goes to UT, I at least understand why a football player might want to go to OU...OU could potentially (in the current climate) get you more exposure for NFL and a bigger payday. But we are talking about softball here. IF you go to professional softball, it doesn't matter if you play at Oklahoma or Texas or Boise State. The best softball players will get drafted regardless. And the amount of girls who make it to the NPF is very small, and the career is very short. So in most every circumstance, softball is a way for them to get an education for free. And if that's the case, Texas should be KILLING it at recruiting. We should be getting every girl in a giant radius who would prefer to live in Austin than Norman or Tuscaloosa or College Station, who would prefer a degree from The University of Texas over OU. We should be able to easily sell our traditions, our great university, programs, a fantastic degree, living in Austin, alumni associations, not to mention greats like Cat Osterman...softball recruiting should be a slam dunk for UT, yet every year it seems like the best girls go elsewhere, and Connie ends up with a random spattering of players.

 

[ryan_sublett]

Seems like that’s a pattern in Texas sports though. The QB position in football is good proof of that. Look how many NFL QBs came out of Texas. None played at UT. Even really good college players who didn’t make it in NFL like RGIII. Texas problem at QB over the last decade or so isn’t because there is any in state.

 

[JHop6714]

Seems like that’s a pattern in Texas sports though. The QB position in football is good proof of that. Look how many NFL QBs came out of Texas. None played at UT. Even really good college players who didn’t make it in NFL like RGIII. Texas problem at QB over the last decade or so isn’t because there is any in state.

I agree with you. It's really sad how much amazing talent from our area hasn't performed at Texas. Not sure if it's a recruiting the right people issue, or a develop you have issue.

However, to my point, I do think you can at least say that a QB choosing to go to Ohio State or OU or Alabama over UT might improve their draft stock and their NFL payday. Doing so in college softball would never bring about a similar result. Thus, we should be able to claim every great softball player in the central Texas region.

 

[JHop6714]

From 247: https://247sports.com/college/texas...rk-Cat-Osterman-potential-candidate-118294724

--The University of Texas women's softball program reached its zenith 15 years ago with a transcendent pitching talent in Cat Osterman, who led the Longhorns to the Women's College World Series in 2003, 2005 and 2006 (taking the 2004 season off to prepare for the Olympics, where Osterman helped win gold). But Texas softball, led by 22-year head coach Connie Clark, the only coach the program has ever had, hasn't been to the Women's College World Series since 2013 while rival Oklahoma has dominated the sport and currently reigns as the two-time defending national champion. Even though the Longhorns reached the final of the Big 12 Tournament (losing to OU) and qualified for NCAA regional play, Clark's contract is up after this season, raising questions about what UT athletic director Chris Del Conte will do next? Horns247 insider Chip Brown has the answer to those questions ...

Texas softball coach Connie Clark is a good person and a good coach. But she’s not a championship coach, and that's why her contract will not be renewed after this season, multiple sources tell Horns247.
Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte has refused to talk about Clark's job status, adding Clark will be reviewed at the end of the season. The Texas softball team (32-24, 10-8) plays Big Ten champion Minnesota in NCAA regional play in Seattle on Friday after finishing fourth in the Big 12 this season.

When you’re in the same conference as perennial national title threat Oklahoma, the bar is raised. The Sooners, under 23-year coach Patty Gasso, have won four national titles, including the last two. OU has won eight of the last nine Big 12 titles, including the last six. OU beat Texas in the final of the Big 12 Tournament.

Clark, in her 22nd year at Texas, has won four conference titles, and three of those (2003, 2005 and 2006) came with one of the most dominant pitchers in collegiate softball history (Cat Osterman). Clark's last conference title came in 2013.

Osterman and Florida coach Tim Walton, a former assistant coach to Gasso at Oklahoma, are two names expected to be considered by Del Conte as Clark's replacement. Osterman, the associate head coach/pitching coach at Texas State, told Horns247 she's heard nothing about the Texas situation. As historically good as Osterman was as a lefty move pitcher at Texas, single-handedly dragging the Longhorns to the Women’s College World Series in 2003, 2005 and 2006. A lack of head-coaching experience could impact Osterman's candidacy.

All we have to go on is Osterman’s resume as an assistant coach at St. Edward’s and the past four seasons as the pitching coach at Texas State. Cat should absolutely have her number retired at McCombs Field but I'm not sure anyone can say as an absolute if Cat would be a good replacement for Clark.

Being a head coach at Texas - in any sport - will eat you alive if you don’t know exactly who you are as a coach. I’ve always said, if I was athletic director at Texas, I would be real reluctant to hire a coach who hadn’t built at least two schools into winners as a head coach.--