With LSU Down To List of Finalists for Baseball Coaching Position, End in Sight Near
LSU is down to its three finalists to take over for Paul Mainieri and lead the baseball program. According to a report from The Daily Advertiser, the Tigers are down to three candidates to take over the program, Arizona's Jay Johnson, East Carolina's Cliff Godwin and Notre Dame's Link Jarrett.
The decision is expected to be made within the next few days according to another report from the Advocate's Wilson Alexander.
It's another development in what has been a whirlwind of a search for Scott Woodward and the athletic administration, but one that could point to a signal of winding down. Over the last several weeks, names like Kevin O'Sullivan, Pat Casey, Tim Corbin and Tony Vitello have surfaced while Godwin and Johnson have been considered options since the beginning.
The one new name that has surfaced is Jarrett, who's been a head coach for the last eight years, six of which were spent at UNC Greensboro and the last two at Mainieri's old school, Notre Dame. Jarrett is fresh off of taking the Irish to an NCAA Super Regional appearance in his second season with the program.
Meanwhile, Johnson just led Arizona to the College World Series but the Wildcats were eliminated early in Omaha, freeing up LSU to pursue him. Johnson is a relatively young candidate as he turned the Nevada program around in two years and has done the same with Arizona over the last six years, leading them to a College World Series runner up in his first season as coach back in 2016.
Arizona has been adament in its intentions to keep Johnson but there has been an interest from Johnson's side to make the move to LSU.
Godwin has spent the last seven years at East Carolina and led his team to five postseason appearances, including three super regionals. He is also on the younger side as he's just 43 years old and has a reputation as a strong recruiter, even spending three years in Baton Rouge as an assistant coach at the very beginning of Mainieri's tenure.
In his last season with LSU in 2008, that team made it to Omaha and hit over .300 for the season with 100 home runs. He's also a coach who, much like Mainieri, isn't afraid to wear his emotions on his sleeve from time to time and was in Baton Rouge for an interview last week.
Woodward and the administration wanted to be diligent in its search which is why it didn't pull the trigger right away on Godwin. Certainly this is a hire that should be made well ahead of the July 11 MLB draft. Whoever earns the job will want enough time to hire an assistant staff with Nolan Cain and Eddie Smith moving on, as well as have enough time to reach out to recruits and feel out what each is thinking in terms of going pro or coming to school.
There appears to be a consistent theme with the most recent news to surface over the last few days, LSU is looking for a coach who isn't just a three or four year stop gap between the next young ascending coach. It's looking for a younger candidate who can have a 10-15 year run much like Mainieri, a tough ask to say the least.
However, this is the premier coaching position in college baseball and now that a top three has surfaced with their seasons at an end, it's a decision that should move rather swiftly moving forward.