Columnist Dean Juipe: Why shouldn’t Schlossnagle leave this mess?

Dean Juipe

Wednesday, July 2, 2003 | 9:31 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4084.

He makes it clear that he isn't leaning either way. He could stay, or he could go.

But if Texas Christian University offers Jim Schlossnagle a job as head coach of its baseball program, I think the man who resurrected the UNLV program is going to take the money and run.

Contacted Tuesday in his UNLV office, Schlossnagle was his typical forthright self. He said he hadn't been offered the position and that there was nothing new to report, as TCU's athletic director was in the midst of a planned vacation to France and wouldn't be back until next week.

He said his contact with TCU has been limited to one five-minute telephone conversation.

"Nothing is imminent," Schlossnagle said. "I'm kind of on hold."

But there's reason to believe TCU will see the situation for what it is: a chance to hire a great young coach who already has ties to Fort Worth and Conference USA. Schlossnagle, 32, was an assistant coach in the league (at Tulane) for eight years and his wife, Kami, is from the Dallas area.

But wait, there's more. Not only is baseball bigger at TCU than it is at UNLV, UNLV's athletic department is in such disarray that any coach with a viable opportunity to leave just might say his or her goodbyes and go.

The situation at UNLV is a mess.

There is no athletic director, with John Robinson having resigned.

Two veteran head coaches -- Shan McDonald and Larry Easley -- were recently fired, one perhaps justifiably after 17 years and the other with hardly any justification at all after 12. In addition, the incoming softball coach, Lonni Alameda, arrives in the midst of a public outcry by the program's best-known alumnus, Lori Harrigan, who believed she was the most suitable replacement for McDonald.

Anything else? Oh yeah, there's a perceived or real schism between the school president and the athletic department. And, more personally for Schlossnagle, UNLV has not upgraded his contract and he has two youngsters (ages 3 and 2) who haven't yet started school -- which means if he's ever going to move his family again, he may want to do it now.

"I don't think it would be easy to go," he said of departing UNLV after only two years. "But I wouldn't consider (TCU) if it wasn't a serious option."

He added that he has rejected feelers from Virginia and Kentucky, saying he had "no interest" in either proposition. But TCU, that's another story.

"They have a great commitment to baseball there, while we have a pretty good commitment to baseball here," he said, comparing TCU to UNLV.

As for the unrest in the UNLV athletic department and how it may affect him, he said "you never know until there's a boss" sitting in the AD's chair.

And, finally, consider this: Schlossnagle's Rebels won the Mountain West title this past season and advanced into the NCAA playoffs, but they've been hit fairly hard in terms of losses to graduation and the pros. He may be able to replace those players and fill the team's needs, but he may also look at what he's facing and believe this is the appropriate time to go.

It's simply conjecture on my part but the facts speak for themselves. If you were him, what would you do?