Published Jun 25, 2024
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Mark Passwaters  •  AggieYell
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I'd like to take a moment to congratulate Jim Schlossnagle on getting his dream job and having the chance to work with a dear friend in Austin.

Nah, not really.

What I want to say is unprintable, but let's start with this: a man who was beloved in Aggieland and could have punched his own ticket for life will now be listed as one of the most infamous coaches in the history of sports.

To know you were going to leave a team on the cusp of a national championship for their arch-rival is pretty despicable as it is. To do it less than 24 hours after ripping a reporter for having the gall! The nerve! To even ask him the question is astounding.

Let's go back to one day ago, shall we? The new coach at Texas said this:

"Honored to be at Texas A&M and honored to be part of the 12th Man."

"The thing that we have going for us is we have the most incredible fan base. The 12th Man just makes it so hard to win there. And so if you can just get in the Regional and find a way to host one, it's really hard to go to Olsen Field and win as a road team."

"We still have a lot of work to go. We have guys coming on visits this week and gotta hold some kids in the draft. Gotta put together another good team. We're losing a lot of good players."

And then the capper, to a politely phrased question about the Texas job:

"I think it's pretty selfish of you you to ask me that question, to be honest with you. But I left my family to be the coach at Texas A&M. I took the job at Texas A&M to never take another job again. And that hasn't changed in my mind.

That's unfair to talk about something like that. That would be like you asking Montgomery if he's going to sign in the draft. But I understand you've got to ask the question. But I gave up a big part of my life to come take this job. And I poured every ounce of my soul in this job and I gave this job every ounce I could possibly give it. Write that."

This dude deserves an Oscar. He got choked up, he cursed, he pushed things around...and already had the job in hand.

So he's either an actor or a fraud. Take your pick. How about we write that?

This is the second time Schlossnagle has vehemently denied being interest another job only to leave his current spot. But this time, he came back from Omaha, walked into Blue Bell Park and informed A&M leadership he was leaving. He didn't tell his players -- at least, not all of them at the very least -- and bailed out.

That tops Nick Saban's "I'm not going to be the coach at Alabama". It beats Roy Williams losing his crap on Bonnie Bernstein when she asked him about the North Carolina job. It beats Tommy Tubberville's “They’ll have to carry me out of here in a pine box” comment in 1998, two days before he left Ole Miss for Auburn.

None of those guys went into a national title game knowing they were about to split for another school after talking about how wonderful his current job was. None had the gall to split before the locker room was cleaned out. And to have his players find out over social media? That's just insulting.

But Schlossnagle insulted hundreds of thousands people whose loyalty he claimed to cherish, a fanbase he said made him tear up because of how good they were.

It was all meaningless. It was all a sham. He's just another egocentric, narcissistic coach who saw Texas A&M as a means to an end, then decided he was too good for what he had.

So congratulations, coach. You get to be mentioned with Nick Saban for eternity. But you haven't won anything, and he has.

Write that.