The Nebraska baseball team is looking for a new head coach following an abrupt end to the season and an abrupt end to Darin Erstad's coaching career. While there has been plenty of talk about who could take the spot since there became an opening, Nebraska AD Bill Moos laid out who he was looking for. If there's one thing that Moos has become very good at since taking the helm of the athletic department, it is going through the coaching search. Since he started in Lincoln, he's had to hire a new head coach for every major men's sport. He's had to hire a few head coaches for some of the minor sports as well.

One candidate fits the bill for Nebraska baseball

Moos talked to 247 Sports about the coaching search, despite the fact that it's just a few days old. “I firmly believe that in the coaching circles it’s regarded as a real good job with a ton of potential and a lot of respect for what Darin and his staff did. I think we have good players on our roster. I think what we have are very good facilities..."

Moos went on to say that he believes the budget laid out for the Nebraska baseball team was competitive enough that money wouldn't be a real issue if the right candidate wanted to come here. He did stop short of saying that the Huskers would break the bank for a new coach.

Things are a little bit different when it comes to college baseball.

It's not the money machine that college football and college basketball are. When it comes to hiring a replacement, money could play a role.

When talking about other qualifications for the job, Moos laid out the kind of template he uses in any coaching search. That means he believes the candidate should have morals and integrity.

He went a step further in saying that when it comes to the baseball coach, it should be someone that is well established when it comes to pitching. That sounds like someone who has been mentioned in recent rumors about the job.

Coming home?

Not long after Erstad announced he was stepping down as the head coach of the Huskers' baseball team, rumors began flying about Rob Childress making a return.

Childress was the pitching coach for the Nebraska baseball team during the Dave Van Horn heydays.

When Van Horn left for Arkansas, then AD Bill Byrne had to decide between Childress or the other assistant coach Mike Anderson. Byrne chose Anderson and Childress took the head coaching job at Texas A&M. After one rebuilding year, he's had a heck of a run for the Aggies, leading them to at least the regionals for 13 straight seasons. That streak includes two trips to the College World Series.

The obvious questions that arise are two-fold.

Was the talk of Darin Erstad stepping down floating around weeks before he announced the decision? Moos is well known to work behind the scenes on situations like this. The other possibility is that Texas A&M has been thinking about replacing Childress, who has had a few struggles (by Texas A&M standards) in the last few years.

Whether or not the rumors are true and Childress might be available for the Nebraska baseball team is something I likely won't know for a few more weeks. For now, it seems a bit too good to be true, but not out of the realm of possibility when you look at who Moos has managed to hire for the basketball and football openings.
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