New Texas Longhorns baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle has had quite the week.

Last Monday, he was one win away from leading Texas A&M to its first national title. The Aggies fell to the Tennessee Volunteers 6-5 in the decisive game at Omaha’s Charles Schwab Field, but Schlossnagle’s night didn’t end after the final out. During a postgame news conference, he was asked about “a specific job opening” — the Longhorn job two hours down the road had opened up earlier in the day — where he gave an answer highlighted by the following statement:

“I took the job at Texas A&M to never take another job again.”

Less than 24 hours later, buzz emerged that Schlossnagle had taken the Texas job. The news was officially announced on Tuesday night. He was back in front of the media answering questions about his answers from two days prior on Wednesday — this time in Austin.

Exactly one week from Texas joining the SEC and Texas-Texas A&M becoming real again, Jim Schlossnagle’s social media timelines are now full of him touting the 12th Man from Omaha mere days ago alongside a new avatar of him in a Longhorns cap. College sports remains undefeated. pic.twitter.com/KwgpZwgHFF

— Ryan McGee (@ESPNMcGee) June 26, 2024

There are a few lines in college sports that rarely get crossed. The interstate feud between the Aggies and Longhorns is one of them. Schlossnagle’s much-ballyhooed saga was reminiscent of college football’s yearly coaching carousel, where there have been more than a few instances of coaches departing after infamous soon-to-be last words. Here are some coaches leaving after memorable quotes suggesting otherwise.

Lincoln Riley: “I’m not going to be the next head coach at LSU”

Year: 2021

Coaching path: Oklahoma to USC

In fairness, Riley was 100% correct when he emphatically shut down any rumors of him taking the LSU job during a Saturday night news conference after a 37-33 Bedlam loss to the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

The catch? By Sunday night, he had been announced as the head coach at USC. Star quarterback Caleb Williams followed Riley to Los Angeles from Norman. He would become a Heisman winner in the pairing’s first year in Southern California en route to an 11-1 regular season record. The Trojans fell to 7-5 in year two, however.

Brian Kelly: “Unless that fairy Godmother comes by with that $250 million check”

Year: 2021

Coaching path: Notre Dame to LSU

LSU didn’t land Riley to run the show in Baton Rouge, but athletic director Scott Woodward wasn’t done hunting in the carousel. Enter then-Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly, who was wrapping up his fifth consecutive 10+ win season with the Irish.

Kelly had previously joked after a senior day win over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in late November that it would have taken $250 million (as well as approval from his wife) to lure him away from South Bend. The Tigers couldn’t go that high, but they did muster up a 10-year, $95 million deal that evidently caught Kelly’s eye. The veteran head coach is now 20-7 across two seasons on the Bayou.

Steve Sarkisian: “We are doing something special here”

Year: 2013

Coaching path: Washington to USC

Before Steve Sarkisian helped build Texas into a College Football Playoff contender, the California native spent his early years as a coach on the West Coast. Sarkisian’s first head coaching gig came at Washington, following a successful stint as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at USC.

Midway through his fifth season with the Huskies, the top gig opened up back at USC, also Sarkisian’s alma mater. Rumors abounded that Sarkisian would be heading back to Los Angeles. The former Trojan shut those rumors in October by saying he hoped to coach Washington even longer than Don James, who spent 18 years in Seattle.

By the second day of December, Sarkisian was the head coach at USC.

Todd Graham: “Nothing but mercenaries”

Year: 2011

Coaching path: Pittsburgh to Arizona State

Graham boasts a unique spot in the pantheon of coaching carousel infamy. After one season with the Rice Owls the former Tulsa defensive coordinator bolted back to the Golden Hurricanes to accept the head coaching job there — two days after signing a contract extension with the Owls.

Four years later in Pittsburgh, Graham took off after another one-year stint at a gig. Following the conclusion of the 2011 campaign, three of Graham’s assistants on his Panther staff decamped for jobs across the country in Arizona. Graham blasted the trio as “nothing but mercenaries.” Two weeks later, though, he accepted the head coaching role at Arizona State.

Nick Saban: “I’m not going to be the Alabama coach”

Year: 2006

Coaching path: Miami Dolphins to Alabama

It would be difficult for Saban to have put things more bluntly than he did in December of 2006, with rumors abuzz that the Crimson Tide were targeting the then-Dolphins coach to take over for the recently-fired Mike Shula.

Saban’s frank statement proved to be just words, however. The former national champion at LSU returned to the SEC to take the Alabama job weeks later, and the rest was history. Saban would win a national championship in his third year in Tuscaloosa, the start of a dynasty that would include five more national titles.

Bobby Petrino: “I want to make clear that I’m not interested in any other coaching jobs”

Year: 2003-2007

Coaching path: Louisville to (eventually) Atlanta Falcons

Petrino developed quite the reputation for looking elsewhere while coaching the Cardinals. In 2003, he denied being linked with a potential opening with the Auburn Tigers, before apologizing after it emerged that he met with officials from the school.

In 2004, he gave the “I’m not interested” line and signed a new contract in Louisville — before admitting days later he met with LSU officials about their opening. In the summer of 2006, he offered another affirmation of his commitment to the Cardinals saying “this is where I want to be” after another contract extension offer.

Six months later, Petrino took a job in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons.

Tommy Tuberville: “They’ll have to carry me out of here in a pine box”

Year: 1998

Coaching path: Ole Miss to Auburn

Perhaps the most famous instance of a coach departing after conflicting last words, Tuberville offered as definitive of an assurance to Rebel fans as he could muster that he was happy with his job — joking that he’d only leave Oxford “in a pine box” when he was dead.

Tuberville presumably traveled in a more conventional manner when he headed across the Alabama/Mississippi border days later, en route to take the Auburn job.

The 2024 NHL draft saw many teams select players who have instantly jumped to the top of their prospect pipelines. And for the San Jose Sharks, not only did they get a new top-six center in Macklin Celebrini, but a long-term power-play quarterback and minutes-eating defenseman in Sam Dickinson.

Meanwhile, the Utah Hockey Club brought in two new veteran defensemen in trades — Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino — while the goalie carousel continued spinning, with Logan Thompson and Akira Schmid finding new homes.

With free agency set to begin at noon ET on Monday, what else were executives and other NHL insiders discussing in Las Vegas? Here’s the latest buzz, setting up the next wave of trades and a pivotal free agent market:

The Tampa Bay Lightning cleared plenty of cap space Saturday, but apparently not to re-sign captain Steven Stamkos.

General manager Julien BriseBois said the team and Stamkos have decided to let the Lightning star hit unrestricted free agency on Monday. That’s after two trades on Saturday at the NHL draft that opened up significant salary cap space, as the Lightning sent defenseman Mikhail Sergachev ($8.5 million average annual value) to Utah and forward Tanner Jeannot ($2.665 million AAV) to the Los Angeles Kings.

CapFriendly now projects the Lightning to have $16.5 million in available cap space. There was plenty of speculation that the increased cap space was earmarked for a new contract for Stamkos, but that wasn’t the case.

BriseBois said he spoke with Stamkos’ agent, Don Meehan, on Saturday after the trades were made but did not increase the team’s offer to its star forward. Multiple reports claim that the Lightning have made a long-term offer to Stamkos but with an average annual value of only $3 million.

“The plan is for Steven to test the free agent market. Our respective positions haven’t changed following today’s trades. I understand that when you get this close to free agency it can be tempting to see what the market has to offer to you. That was a risk I was taking when I didn’t go to Steven a year early to try to lock him up and get a contract done,” BriseBois said.

The general manager also told Meehan that “it’s the best interest of our organization to explore all options in the coming days, whether it be via trades or by getting into free agency.”

There was heavy speculation at the draft in Las Vegas on Saturday that the Lightning could target Carolina Hurricanes winger Jake Guentzel in free agency, who is five years younger than Stamkos. The Hurricanes have been attempting to retain Guentzel but have yet to ink him to a new contract.

“We have this cap space. We can allocate it in different ways by either getting volume or quality. I don’t know yet how we’re going to do that. I know the priority is going to be to address our forward group,” BriseBois said.

Stamkos, 34, had been a key part of that forward group since the Lightning selected him No. 1 overall in the 2008 draft.

Stamkos has spent 16 seasons with the Lightning and is the club’s career leader in goals (555), points (1,137) and games (1,082). He has won two Stanley Cups (2020, 2021) with the franchise and has 50 goals and 51 assists in 128 playoff games.

This past season, Stamkos had 40 goals and 41 assists in 79 games. It marked the seventh time he has scored 40 or more goals. A seven-time All-Star, Stamkos also authored his first career four-goal game this past December.

Stamkos came close to becoming a free agent in 2016 before signing an eight-year, $68 million deal just before the start of free agency. But this time, he’s headed to the market.

“We have to see what’s best for the Lightning organization and Steven has to do what’s best for him, his career and his family,” BriseBois said. “So unless something changes between now and July 1 — and it doesn’t look like it will — then we will get to July 1.”

The Lightning also are hopeful of working out a contract extension with defenseman Victor Hedman, who has one season left on an eight-year, $63 million contract. Hedman, 33, had 13 goals and 76 points in 78 games this season, his 15th with the club.

“We’ve had discussions with Victor’s agents about an extension,” BriseBois said. “In his case, we have more runway before we have to get a deal done, as he still has one year left on his current agreement. That being said, the plan remains to be in a position to announce an agreement on a new contract for Victor in the coming days.”

Information from Field Level Media was used in this report.