It's back to the drawing board at Apple Valley.

Former Twins player and coach Al Newman was in line to be the Eagles' varsity coach this spring after accepting the vacant job earlier this year. But Wednesday he confirmed that will not happen because there was a possibility of bigger fish to fry.

"I could not leave [Apple Valley] hanging," Newman said. "Sometimes opportunities come up, and I felt like if I was considering another job I had to be fair to Apple Valley. I was looking forward to it, and I told [Athletics Director] Pete Buesgens I still want to help in the offseason and be involved in boosters."

Newman, 50, would not specify exactly what job he was otherwise considering.

Newman has several previous big-league experiences. He was a utility player for the Twins during his career and helped them to World Series championships in 1987 and 1991. He later coached in the Twins' minor league system was a third base coach with the team after Ron Gardenhire took over as manager in 2002.