Exactly eight months after agreeing to join the Texas State baseball coaching staff, David Pierce, the former Texas, Tulane and Sam Houston head coach, is set to return to the place where his collegiate coaching career began, Rice University, ending his brief stint in San Marcos on Texas State head coach Steven Trout’s staff.
When Rice decided to part ways with its head coach just a few days ago, Pierce was immediately perceived as the leading candidate as he began his collegiate coaching career with the Owls in 1991 and returned to the school in 2002. Pierce helped guide Rice through some of their best years, appearing in five College World Series and winning one national championship.
Here is what Pierce’s departure could mean about the current and future state of Bobcat baseball:
Unrest in the program?
It makes sense why Pierce took the job with Rice and it shouldn’t be much of a shock to those familiar with his history with the Owls. What does come as a bit of a surprise however, is the quickness that Pierce left.
Usually, when a team parts ways with their coach mid-season, they hire an interim and wait until the offseason to hire an official replacement. Pierce however was adamant on starting as soon as possible, a little bit of an unusual process in terms of coaching vacancies.
While Pierce’s mid-season departure could be attributed to the fact that conference play just started and there’s plenty of season left, it can also raise questions about why he was eager to leave.
Why was Pierce so quick to leave? If the Bobcats continued on their early season success would he have stuck around? Are there internal issues that led to his departure? All of these questions are tough to answer, but they are definitely worth asking as the only ones who truly know what’s going on within the program are those in it day-to-day.
Could this be a spark?
When Pierce was hired, expectations were high and those in the community were excited about bringing on a coach the caliber of Pierce. It also says something about the caliber of the Bobcats program that they were able to pull in a coach as decorated as Pierce is. Players and coaches alike were ready for the opportunity to work with him.
However, now that Pierce has left the building, maybe it will be a kick in the butt for the program. Even though he was only in San Marcos for eight months, there is always some level of personal feeling when a coach leaves for another job.
Watching a coach walk mid-season could signal that more changes could be on the horizon if the current level of play continues. If the team wants to keep their staff together, maybe this is what gets them into gear. Maybe this is the signal that things need to change and change fast. Only time will tell if the message gets across.
