Given a Top 10 ranking in the college football polls to start the 2011 football season, Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman could not keep the Aggies on that elite list based on their on-field performance.
But Sherman has been climbing up the rankings of embattled coaches this week on the website www.CoachesHotSeat.com, reaching the No. 3 spot this morning. He trails only Colorado State’s Steve Fairchild (No. 1) and Boston College’s Frank Spaziani (No. 2), now that the plug has been pulled on UCLA’s Rick Neuheisel and Washington State’s Paul Wulff, removing both men from the list.
As we’ve mentioned on multiple occasions in the past 10 days, it would be costly for A&M to buy out Sherman’s remaining contract (between $7 million and $9 million, say sources with knowledge of the deal) in the same off-season that the school will have to pay exit fees to the Big 12 for its impending move to the SEC in July (league bylaws mandate a $28 million departure fee, although the figure is expected to be negotiated down to roughly half that figure).
Multiple media reports, including one by a College Station radio station, cited a meeting today between Sherman and A&M regent James Wilson, arranged at Sherman's request. After the meeting, multiple reports said Sherman left the Aggies' football facility to resume his recruiting duties, with plans to visit prospects in Houston.
There has been speculation that some Houston-based alums have an interested in making a pitch to Houston coach Kevin Sumlin, a former A&M assistant who has led the Cougars to a 12-0 record and a berth in Saturday's Conference USA championship game. But the Arizona Repubic reported today that Sumlin has been offered the vacant post at Arizona State, which could take Sumlin off the market.
What all of this means in regard to Sherman's future at A&M remains to be seen.
At this juncture, a segment of A&M fans and administrators do not want to be hasty in removing Sherman _ who is 25-25 after four seasons, including a 6-6 mark this season _ because the Aggies were competitive in every game and because of a strong recruiting class pledged to A&M for 2012 (ranked 7th nationally by Rivals.com).
The Aggies held double-digit leads in five of their six losses, two of which came in overtime. Three other defeats were by one, two and four points.
All five of those losses were to teams headed to bowl games and currently ranked in the most recent BCS standings: No. 3 Oklahoma State (10-1), No. 8 Arkansas (10-2), No. 11 Kansas State (9-2), No. 22 Texas (7-4) and No. 25 Missouri (7-5).
The other loss came to No. 10 Oklahoma, 41-25, in Norman, Okla.
That is why A&M athletic director Bill Byrne made a plea for patience and reflection during his Weekly Wednesday column posted on the school’s website.
“I’m hearing the Queen of Hearts solution from Alice in Wonderland from many of you,” Byrne wrote. “We need to set aside our disappointment and build from here. We all need to remember our coaches and players put us in position to win all our games this season, and once we take the emotion out of what went wrong, we will find a way to fix it.”
One solution could involve requiring Sherman, who calls his own plays, to return next season with an offensive coordinator on his staff.
One thing is certain: If A&M does make the financial commitment to dismiss Sherman immediately, administrators need to do make the move quickly. Other schools have begun hiring replacement coaches, with Washington State scheduled to announce its new coach, Mike Leach, at a press conference this afternoon.
_ Jimmy Burch
Once atm does play in the SEC, it will not make any difference who the HC is. They will be a door mat for most of the other SEC teams for the next several seasons.
Posted by: merritt | December 01, 2011 at 11:38 AM
Sherman should get at least one season in the SEC to see what he can do. However, he should NOT get a raise or a contract extension of any type until he produces good results.
Posted by: Mike G | December 01, 2011 at 02:32 PM
If they are insistent on giving Sherman a 5th year (uggg), I would insist a record of 8-4 or better. Assuming the SEC West is A&M, LSU, Mizzou, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Miss St., and another team, I would also insist on a .500 conference record. They also need to show that they aren't going to give up big second half leads because of coaching, and by coaching I don't mean ONLY defensive lapses; I also mean the offensive play calling cannot go conservative.
Posted by: SS | December 01, 2011 at 03:52 PM
If this is true, it's an absolutely crazy move. Sherman's record doesn't reflect the team that he inherited, or the talent pool that he has built while at the school (e.g. Sherman's predecessor, Dennis Franchioni recruited some good players, but the team didn't have the depth of talent that it has now -- especially in terms of the team's offensive line which is young and has a few NFL caliber players).
The team definitely needs to do a much better job of protecting the football -- and a lot of that is on the coach. But you can't win just on solid fundamentals. You also need talent. Sherman's NFL profile has been a great recruiting tool. Heading into the next season the team has one of the top 10 recruiting classes in the nation -- something that it hasn't had in years.
I love TAMU football, but this is absolutely crazy. It also sends the wrong message to coaches and potential recruits.
Posted by: JP | December 01, 2011 at 07:19 PM
Sherman should get at least one season in the SEC to see what he can do. And the team definitely needs to do a much better job of protecting the football.
Posted by: soccer coaching | February 08, 2012 at 05:49 AM