Why Didn't Texas A&M Hire Kevin Sumlin in 2008 When it Had the Chance?
By Jason McIntyre
"Mike Sherman won’t be the disaster that Dennis Franchione was as Texas A&M head coach. But he won’t be a rousing success, either. Far from it. The Aggies will finish behind Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech in the Big 12 South next fall, spend another few years in the middle of the division’s pack, then Sherman will announce his retirement/resignation. When that moment comes, the first man A&M athletic director Bill Byrne will call is the guy he should have called before settling for Sherman last November. Kevin Sumlin. By then, the former OU assistant will have won 75 percent of his games at Houston, maybe a lower-tiered bowl or two. He will have shown a knack for recruiting, player-coach bonding and booster-club gladhanding. He will have shown impeccable character."
About the only thing missing? Texas A&M joining the SEC.
Franchione was a disaster (32-28 in five years); Sherman wasn’t a rousing success, but he was marginally better than Franchione (25-25, but at least the Aggies finished one season ranked). Neither won a bowl game, so I’d actually accept “push.”
Sumlin went 35-17 at Houston, which comes out to a shade less than 75 percent of his games (67 percent). I’ll let Aggies fans play the “what if” game with Sumlin. It’s still very, very early in his A&M tenure to make any bold predictions about his future, but can you recall excitement being this high around the program at any time when Sherman was there? [Tulsa World]