Another day, another head coaching vacancy in the college football world. For the latest job opening, we’re heading to College Station, where Texas A&M has announced its decision to fire Kevin Sumlin. The move comes on the heels of a 7-5 regular season and a 45-21 loss to end the year against LSU.
Official: Texas A&M University Director of Athletics Scott Woodward has relieved Head Football Coach Kevin Sumlin of all duties effective immediately. Assistant Coach Jeff Banks will serve as interim head coach.
— Brent Zwerneman (@BrentZwerneman) November 26, 2017
The university made the announcement official on Sunday afternoon, ending Sumlin’s tenure in College Station after a 51-26 record over six seasons. Sumlin is at present the favorite to land in Tempe with the Arizona State job coming open earlier on Sunday after Todd Graham was fired, but nothing is official at this time. Sumlin will receive his full $10.4 million buyout, whether he takes the Arizona State job or not.
Texas A&M has fired Kevin Sumlin. Aggies owes him a $10.4 million buyout under the terms of his contact, which is to be paid in the next 60 days and isn't reduced if he takes another coaching job.
— Mark Schlabach (@Mark_Schlabach) November 26, 2017
The Aggies are expected heavily pursue Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher as their top candidate to replace Sumlin, with the rest of their coaching search list unknown at this time.
It’s an unceremonious end to the Sumlin era, as he came to College Station following four successful years at Houston and immediately looked like he was going to establish the Aggies as a college football powerhouse. In his first season at the helm, Texas A&M went 11-2 with a 6-2 mark in conference play, won the Cotton Bowl, finished fifth in the nation in the final poll of the year, and saw its quarterback, Johnny Manziel, win the Heisman Trophy.
But since then, it’s been a steady stream of general mediocrity for the Aggies. After his initial season, the Aggies went 9-4, then had three 8-5 finishes in a row, and finished 7-5 during this regular season. While the team was never “bad,” this is a school that wants to consistently finish among college football’s elite, so Sumlin consistently churning out mediocre teams wasn’t getting the job done.
