Does Augie have to win the B12 tnmt. to secure '17
- Thread starter 12375CAT
- Start date
Good question. I am not sure. Next year is the final year of his contract, I believe. Perhaps Perrin allows him to have his "swan song" and try to leave Texas in a better spot. We had a rough year in 2013, then next year we make it to Omaha and are one run away from playing in the NC series. In today's "what have you done for me lately" world and need for instant gratification, it is easy to say "he needs to go." Last year we made the tourney, but went 2 and cue, and this year we possess the worst record (22-30) Longhorn baseball has had since 1998 (23-32-1). Based on those numbers it sounds like he should go. BUT, seeing as how next year is the final year of his contract, I would say we should let him play out the final year of that contract and give him the chance to see if he can right the ship.
The problem with giving him next year is he likely can't reach 2,000 wins, but can get within a few, so then there'll be clamoring for him to get 2018 to reach that milestone and cap off his career. As someone who has supported this team since the days of Bibb Falk, I can't stomach even 1 more year of piss-poor Texas baseball. Augie needs to join Brown and Barnes as celebrated FORMER Texas coaches!
I'm sorry, but f*** that.
Instant gratification has nothing to do with it. This is our worst five-year stretch in the 70-season NCAA baseball tournament era -- and arguably ever). He doesn't deserve to coach for the final year of his contract. Furthermore, letting him try to right the ship is a guaranteed loser for the program: Setting aside the fact that he's extremely unlikely to lead a renaissance of Texas baseball with another year, how is he going to recruit worth a damn as a lame duck who can't tell the players he's recruiting who will be coaching them in their SO and JR years? So we get yet another year of almost certainly sh*tty baseball and a lost recruiting class guaranteeing us an even longer rebuild. No thanks!
Augie is not Bill Snyder. This was not some desolate nuclear fallout zone of a sports program when he arrived -- Texas was already the winningest program in college baseball history when Augie got to Austin. He's now failing in historic fashion, and he needs to go immediately. We don't owe him anything more than thanks for the decade of the 2000s and a $300K buyout. He's had more than ample time to address the mess he's created.
(As an aside, his plea to have more time and his promise to do whatever is necessary to turn the program around flat pisses me off. If it's so obvious to him what needs to be done, why didn't he do any of it before now? I would ask if he plans to actually be involved in recruiting again, but there's no point with a lame duck as HC. Does his plan involve showing up to more than half the practices and not sitting silently in his chair the entire time when he does? If not, I will gladly offer to do nothing for a lot less money than Augie will.)
I think instant gratification has a lot to do with it. Especially when you consider that right, smack dab in the middle of that "worst five-year stretch in the 70-season NCAA baseball tournament era" we were one run away from playing in the championship series, I would say maybe you allow him a little bit of time. I would contend, without going through and thoroughly analyzing each year, there were likely 5 year stretches where we may not have made it to Omaha, perhaps? Let alone be one run away from playing in the championship. You can certainly believe next year will be a failure with him as the manager, and I don't think I could argue that you are wrong, but I would say to look back at 13-14 and 14-15. We went 27-24 and finished 9th in the conference, and then the next year we go 46-21, and make it to Omaha. That is a good example of what Augie can do if given the opportunity.
And I don't need the lecture about how Texas baseball is different. I get it. The bar is playing for National Championships, and trips to Omaha. We are THE college baseball program.
I understand both sides of this discussion, but in my humble opinion as a huge fan/supporter of UT baseball, I say him I would not be opposed to allowing him one more year.
I don't think I could handle another year like this one either. But I don't believe that will happen. He is at like 1,977 wins after this season, right? I may not be able to say we will make it to Omaha next year, but I can damn sure say I think we will get more than 23 wins next year.
If they can hold off Baylor (remember yesterday's collapse?) that puts Augie at 1973 (he started the season at 1950)--27 wins short of the milestone. Even if the team keeps winning, I'm ready for a coaching change. The sooner we reboot, the sooner Texas Baseball can reclaim it's rightful place as a championship contender.
You can call it that if you want, but I think the argument is very weak when we're talking about historically awful performance.
Just can't agree when the other four years were varying flavors of terrible. Barring a miracle in the Big 12 tournament, we will have missed the postseason in three of the last five years (and we would have missed it in four of the last five but for a miraculous run in the 2015 conference tournament). We only missed the postseason four times in the preceding 47 years.
Under a single coach? Nope. Never.
The more likely example of what present-day Augie -- the 77-year-old who no longer recruits and who sits silently in his chair during the practices he bothers to attend -- will do is what he has done for four of the last five years.
Everyone is entitled to his opinion. We're already looking a rebuild thanks to his mismanagement of the program over the last several years. If we bring him back for another year as a lame-duck head coach, we lose an additional recruiting class, postponing our return to elite status even further. I don't think he has done anything to deserve having another year to crater the program further.
