Sunday, June 12, 2005

Beesball: Hiring away Danny Hall

A mention that Texas A&M has actually narrowed it's list of candidates for their baseball head coaching job to two guys - SC's Ray Tanner and GT's Danny Hall. If you ask me, they better expand their search, but we'll see......

Texas A&M probably will try to lure Tanner away with a big payday, as Aggies athletics director Bill Byrne is expected to offer a total package worth about $500,000 to his choice between the top two candidates.


Texas A&M athletics spokesman Alan Cannon said Wednesday that Byrne has whittled his list to Tanner and Georgia Tech coach Danny Hall after Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said he was not interested. Arkansas also declined Byrne’s request for permission to speak with Van Horn.


Cannon said Byrne has no hiring committee and often chooses candidates based on his own feeling.


Byrne has said he will not contact either coach until his team’s season is over. Because Georgia Tech will play in this weekend’s super regional series against Tennessee, Byrne has at least a week’s head start to make inroads with Tanner.


Tanner’s decision will be based on many considerations, not the least of which is money. USC could offer Tanner a significant raise from his current package, which is worth between $300,000 and $400,000 per year, depending on incentives.