It is becoming increasingly clear that Texas A&M baseball needs to make a move at the head coach position. With the odds of making the NCAA tournament field longer than they ever have been for the Aggies, A&M needs to move quickly once the decision is made.
While this is a decision that will be divisive, at least to a degree— the players clearly love Earley, and it's always a tough call to dismiss a coach after only one season— from an objective standpoint, it seems to be the right one. Of course, decisions like these never occur in a vacuum— you need to have a plan of who exactly you're going to go out and get if you are indeed about to dismiss your coach.
Rob Vaughn from Alabama is a solid candidate for the Aggies, and appears that he has been for some time. However, if A&M is swinging for the fences, there's another name that they need to pursue aggressively— a long-timer at his current school, but a guy who is more obtainable now than he ever has been: Brian O'Connor of Virginia.
If Texas A&M baseball hires Brian O'Connor, they are immediate contenders once again
Baseball America has named O'Connor a name to watch for this coaching cycle. His name was tossed around during the Aggies' previous coaching search, but he ended up not being a final candidate— whether that was his prerogative or A&M's is unclear. Regardless, he seems to be a guy that the Aggies can go out and get if they decide to move in that direction.
The counterargument would be that you're trading a guy who went from preseason number one to missing the tournament for a guy who went from preseason number two to missing the tournament (if both of these eventualities do indeed come to pass, as it seems they will.
The counter to that counter is that O'Connor's long history of success at UVA outweighs this current season in Charlottesville. He has captained the Cavaliers to a national title while at UVA, and several CWS berths besides.
O'Connor is reportedly being targeted by other schools as well, including Mississippi State, but the Aggies can put together the best package out of any school who will be in the market. O'Connor could just be the big swing that the Aggies are looking for, and fans should be overjoyed if this is indeed the move.