UNLV could have kept Schlossnagle by acting sooner
Tommy Bowden and Jim Schlossnagle have much in common, but Schlossnagle attempted to separate himself from those parallels Wednesday afternoon, the day he separated himself from the UNLV baseball program.
Schlossnagle coached the Rebels for two years before accepting an offer from Texas Christian on Tuesday. He was introduced as the new Horned Frogs coach early Wednesday afternoon.
Bowden left Tulane for Clemson in 1999 after spending two years resuscitating the Green Wave to top-10 caliber. But before taking the Clemson job, he returned to New Orleans to hear a counteroffer from Tulane.
"He came back and asked for the world," said Schlossnagle, Tulane's pitching coach at the time. "They gave it to him, and he still left. I love Tommy Bowden, but people aren't that fond of him there.
"Because of that, I have too much respect for UNLV to (have asked them) to go the extra mile, and then leave, so ... "
So, when it became apparent that TCU's wooing of Schlossnagle was becoming serious over the previous several days, UNLV interim athletic director Fred Albrecht said Schlossnagle wouldn't even listen to any counters.
The period to secure Schlossnagle's future at UNLV, with promises of facility and financial upgrades, had long passed.
"It's been a bittersweet whirlwind, to be honest with you," Schlossnagle said from Fort Worth. "I'm really excited about this opportunity, and I'm really kind of ... I don't know what word to use. I feel like my work was not done there.
"This is the only situation in the country I would have left UNLV for. As long as it was as good as UNLV, and it ended up being that way, so ... it's been crazy."
After a two-week courtship, Schlossnagle, 32, accepted TCU athletic director Eric Hyman's offer Tuesday afternoon.
Wednesday morning, Albrecht -- supposedly with the blessing of Dr. Carol Harter, UNLV's president -- hired former Schlossnagle assistant Buddy Gouldsmith, 35, to coach the Rebels.
Schlossnagle had brought Gouldsmith, a Sacramento native, with him from Tulane, where Gouldsmith served as the Green Wave hitting instructor.
Schlossnagle took former UNLV assistant coach Matt Siegel, a four-year starting infielder at Florida who played in the 1998 College World Series, with him to TCU. Kevin Smoot, a two-year Rebels assistant, will remain on Gouldsmith's staff.
Gouldsmith agreed to a three-year contract to coach the Rebels valued at about $65,000 per year with incentives that could total $15,000 each year.
"I lobbied for him, after the fact," Schlossnagle said of Gouldsmith. "They had pretty much made the decision. They tried to make it enticing for us to stay. But, at the same time, they had a secondary play in mind.
"Buddy, to me, is the most-deserving candidate."
After all, according to Schlossnagle, he signed UNLV stars Patrick Dobson and Fernando Valenzuela, Jr., sight-unseen after hearing Gouldsmith's glowing scouting reports.
Schlossnagle might not have been around Las Vegas long enough for anyone to harbor feelings of betrayal over his quick departure to Texas.
Two years ago, a UNLV search committee tabbed him to replace Rod Soesbe, and Schlossnagle said Gouldsmith was his most important hire.
Wednesday afternoon, at Gouldsmith's news conference at the Thomas & Mack Center, that proved to be true, as Albrecht placed great importance on "continuity" and Gouldsmith implored that he does not have far-away eyes.
"I am happy here," he said. "I want to be here and I want to retire here."
Schlossnagle keeps his ambitions to himself, but his drive, demand on others and micro-managing style were in the open.
Upon arriving at UNLV, those characteristics did not endear him to many in the athletic department and a faction of players. All but balloons and a celebration cake greeted the more-affable Gouldsmith at his Wednesday media gathering.
Schlossnagle took the high road, not speaking a word of ill will toward UNLV or about the failure of the Rebels' hierarchy to sweeten his pact when the team returned from only its second appearance in the NCAA tournament in 14 years in June.
"It would have been nice to have someone come to us right then," he said. "But when you don't have an AD, I don't know how those things are supposed to go down. That's the nature of the business."
He only bristled a little when asked about his alleged dream, supported by various baseball sources, of one day coaching the University of Texas.
"No," Schlossnagle said. "TCU is one of the few places I would leave UNLV for, (and) there's no job out there that I have been dreaming about."
His wife, Kami, is from the Dallas-Forth Worth area, and Schlossnagle said the benefit of having their two young children grow up around relatives played a critical role in his move.
No coach has held the top baseball job at UNLV for a shorter stretch than Schlossnagle, and he said he understands if some hold that against him.
"Fans, especially, never really understand," he said. "They get emotional. I understand that. I don't want to have people in Las Vegas hunting me down. At the same time, it's just part of the landscape.
"People who truly understand college athletics, and family, understand why this went down."
So does Tommy Bowden.
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