Has Auburn Found Its New Baseball Coach?

By Jay Coulter
jccoulter@gmail.com

After several weeks of little news to report in the search for a new baseball coach, Auburn appears to be moving closer to naming a new coach. Most of the talk this week has surrounded Texas Christian coach Jim Schlossnagle.

Schlossnagle interviewed with athletic director Jay Jacobs on Sunday and appeared to be the front runner until late Wednesday night when he returned to Texas and withdrew from consideration.

There are several ways to view this withdrawal. He either turned the job down or Auburn has opted to go in a different direction and may be close to naming a coach.

"Sometimes as a coach when you look at other opportunities you learn it confirms how great a situation you already have," Schlossnagle told The Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "I know it will make me an even better coach for TCU."

So where does Auburn go from here?

Once again, attention shifts back to Coastal Carolina coach Gary Gilmore (not the one that killed those people in Utah in the 1970's) and College of Charleston coach John Pawlowski. They both have interviewed with Jacobs.

Former Auburn player and Samford coach Casey Dunn appears to still be in the running, but at this point looks to be a fall-back candidate. Other names continuing to be mentioned include New Orleans coach Tom Walter and North Carolina State coach Elliott Avent.

An announcement from Jacobs should come by the weekend.