Florida State will be in uncharted territory when it comes to hiring a new head baseball coach after the 2018-19 season. Over the next few days, we'll look at some of the key challenges facing the Seminoles and discuss which path might make the most sense going forward.
Today: College powers have tried different approaches, found mixed results
Coming next: Examining the financial commitments being made at college baseball programs
For the first time in four decades, Florida State is in the market for a new baseball coach.
With Mike Martin announcing his retirement earlier this week, the Seminoles' administration is tasked with replacing the all-time winningest coach in college baseball history.
Athletics director Stan Wilcox said the university would conduct a "national search" at the conclusion of the 2019 season -- which will be the last in the Hall of Fame career of Martin.
But in reality, the search has already started. And the list of candidates will be long and distinguished.
Coaches from all over the country will be interested in taking over one of the elite programs in the United States.
The question is, of course, which coach is the best fit?
More broadly: Which type of coach makes the most sense? An assistant from a top-tier program or a successful head coach from a similar or mid-major university?
Obviously, Mike Martin Jr., is a strong candidate for the job. But he's never been a head coach. Does that matter? Should that matter? And would hiring a head coach from a lesser program be a better fit than hiring a longtime assistant?
With that in mind, here is a look at what route other elite programs have taken in replacing a legend or finding championship success with their hires.
When Augie Garrido left Cal State Fullerton to coach Texas, the Titans hired longtime assistant George Horton to replace the legend. Horton wound up coaching Cal State Fullerton for 11 years. He made the College World Series six times and won a national championship before leaving to take the head coaching job at Oregon.
In Baton Rouge, when Skip Bertman retired from LSU, he was replaced by his former assistant, Smoke Laval. Unlike Horton, Laval had head coaching experience, having led the Louisiana-Monroe program for six seasons before being hired back at LSU as a head coach-in-waiting for Bertman's last year.
It didn't work out for Laval, who made the College World Series twice but was forced to resign after not making the NCAA Tournament in Year 5
