The Lincoln Journal Star has confirmed that Darin Erstad will be named the new Husker baseball coach at a 3:30 PM press conference this afternoon.
Erstad has never been held a head coaching position, having served last season as the team's volunteer coach. He was supposed to help the team increase it's hitting, and the team finished eighth out of 10 teams with a .269 average.
My take: Tom Osborne interviewed other head coaches to make it look good, then hired the guy he wanted to hire all along. This pick may be popular with people just because Erstad was a known former Husker, having played in the major leagues and as the punter on a national title football team.
Honestly, I think this sucks. I don't understand how you hire a guy who's never been a coach before. I wonder where he's going to find a staff, given that Eric Newman and Dave Bingham will not be retained.
If you like this hire, I'd like to hear about the reasons why.
[Update - Apparently former Husker WIll Bolt will be hired as an assistant coach per Kendall Rogers on twitter.