Roy Oswalt for Mississippi State pitching coach

Last week, D1 Baseball reported that Cal State Fullerton's Jason Dietrich would be in Starkville this past weekend to interview for MSU's vacant pitching coach position after Butch Thompson left to become the new head coach at Auburn.  It was expected by many that Dietrich would accept the position, and MSU would go chugging right along towards a pivotal 2016 season with lots of talent and lots to prove.  But things did not quite play out that way, as he opted to stay home (Dietrich is a Fullerton alum) instead of moving to the SEC.

So where does that leave Mississippi State?  The college baseball landscape is a vast one, so MSU isn't without remaining options.  But maybe the best option all along lives right down the road and has been just next door the whole time.

Maybe the best option is Choctaw County native son Roy Oswalt.

Yes, I mean that Roy Oswalt.  The Roy Oswalt who has 163 career MLB wins and a career 3.36 ERA.  The Roy Oswalt who is from just down the road in Weir (where?), and that, now retired, lives in the Starkville area.  The Roy Oswalt who is also a noted Mississippi State fan:

#hailstate suite125 pic.twitter.com/cTFJYixPpX

— Roy Oswalt (@royoswalt44net) October 17, 2015

So to recap: MLB All-Star and 20-game winner, local native, MSU fan.  Am I missing anything else?

Well, there is that whole thing about Roy probably not being interested in it.  I know if I was retired with lots of hard earned american dollars in my bank account, you'd likely have a tough time making a case for me to even put on pants every day.

We can dream, though, can't we?  That's all it'll likely be -- like Tennessee and John Gruden -- and that's okay. State will likely hire a really good coach from somewhere else. It is a top 15 national program, after all. And even though it won't be Roy, the doors always open if you change your mind*, Roy.

*since you're definitely reading this, Roy, I should be honest and say that I don't have authority to make this happen.