Mike Sherman Considered The Favorite For Tampa Bay Buccaneers Job, According To Report

Former Texas A&M head coach Mike Sherman has not been publicly named as a contender for the vacant Tampa Bay Buccaneers job, but according to Rick Stroud of the St. Petersburg Times, he's the frontrunner for the position:

Bucs insist there is no favorite at this point, but NFL coaching community continues to say Mike Sherman will be next Bucs head coach FWIW

— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) January 11, 2012

Sherman has a long history in the NFL, coming to the Texas A&M job in 2008 after two years with the Houston Texans as an offensive assistant that followed his long run (2000-'05) with the Green Bay Packers. Sherman was 57-39 with Green Bay as a head coach, but 2-4 in the postseason, never making the Super Bowl. Sherman was fired following the Aggies' 6-6 season in 2011, and was 25-25 over four years in College Station.

For more on the Texas A&M Aggies, check out I Am The 12th Man. For more on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, go to Bucs Nation.

Brandon Williams Transferring From Oklahoma To Texas A&M, According To Report

Oklahoma running back Brandon Williams will finally take Kevin Sumlin up on his offer - after turning down Sumlin's Houston Cougars to play for the Sooners, the freshman tailback will transfer to Texas A&M to play for Sumlin, the Aggies' new head coach, accrording to GigEm 24/7:

@TaylorHamm247 Former OU running back Brandon Williams will be officially transferring to A&M. He committed to A&M yesterday while on campus. #TAMU #GIGEM

Jason Kirk at SB Nation's college football news hub notes that Williams didn't see much playing time this season:

Williams wasn't able to get on the field all that often for the Sooners, gathering 46 touches for 219 yards in his first year. Still, that's hardly a scant workload for a freshman, especially on a talented, pass-first offense like OU's.

For more on the Aggies, visit I Am The 12th Man. For Oklahoma news and updates, check out Crimson And Cream Machine. For everything college football, vist SB Nation's college football page. 

Kevin Sumlin's Contract At Texas A&M Revealed

In a press conference announcing the hiring of former Houston Cougars football coach Kevin Sumlin Monday, Texas A&M officials revealed the contract Sumlin received for making the jump from Conference USA to the SEC.

The Aggies signed Sumlin to a five-year deal worth around $2 million annually, a number which nearly doubles his salary at Houston but puts him on the lower end of the spectrum in the SEC.

Four of his competitors in the SEC West -- Alabama's Nick Saban, LSU's Les Miles, Arkansas' Bobby Petrino and Auburn's Gene Chizik -- made at least $3.5 million this season. The only coach in the conference making less than Sumlin is Kentucky's Joker Phillips, although, as a private school, Vanderbilt does not release its head coaches' salaries.

Sumlin's willingness to take relatively less money must have been a huge plus for Texas A&M in the hiring process, as the already in debt athletic department has to pay a huge relocation fee to the Big 12 as well as buyout the rest of former head coach Mike Sherman's contract.

The $2 million salary will also give the Aggies the budgetary breathing room to compete for the best defensive coordinators in the country, a must to complement an offensive-minded coach in a defense-first league.

Kevin Sumlin Officially Named Texas A&M's New Head Coach

The Texas A&M Aggies coaching search has come to a conclusion and as expected they have hired Kevin Sumlin from the Houston Cougars to take over for Texas A&M, and he will be their first head coach to lead Texas A&M into the SEC.

Texas A&M To Hire Houston Head Coach Kevin Sumlin, According To Reports

It's not Mark Richt, but the Aggies are set to bring in the maestro of the country's top offense.

Report: Texas A&M May Have Already Made A Decision On Their New Coach

According to Billy Luicci, the Texas A&M football beat writer for Texags.com, the Aggies may have already made a decision on who their next football coach will be:

billyliucci Billy Liucci 

Hearing a decision has been made in TAMU coaching search. Details should begin to be hammered out today.

1 hour ago Favorite Retweet Reply

While Georgia coach Mark Richt's name has come out at the last minute, most of the speculation around the A&M coaching position has centered around Houston coach Kevin Sumlin, Louisville coach Charlie Strong and Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart.

The A&M job is one of the most unique in the country, as the school has a mix of strengths and weaknesses that the average outside observer may not understand, which means there are a lot of different directions the school could go in as they prepare to enter the SEC.

Most importantly, after whiffing on their last two hires, the Aggies cannot afford to make a mistake this time.

Texas A&M Coaching Search: Mark Richt Is A 'Legitimatie' Candidate, According To Report

The Texas A&M search for a head coach has gone in many directions so far, with it first being reported that Houston's Kevin Sumlin was the head coach and then was not, or that Air Force's Troy Calhoun was a serious candidate for the job. Now the latest report -- which has literally sprung up from nowhere -- has the Aggies now making a run at Georgia's Mark Richt.

This latest coaching news comes from Aggie beat writer Brent Zwerneman who is saying that Rich is a real candidate to replace Mike Sherman.

Or it could be that Richt is entertaining other jobs since he is up for an extension with Georgia after winning the SEC East. Richt going to Texas A&M seems far fetched since he is coming off of a SEC East championship and a move to coach the Aggies would put him in charge of a less talented team and be playing in the tougher half of the SEC.

For the latest news and analysis on Texas A&M's coaching search, head over to I Am The 12th Man.

Charlie Strong 'Not Looking' To Leave Louisville

Louisville head coach Charlie Strong, one of the names that's been widely linked to Texas A&M in their search to replace Mike Sherman, issued a series of strong statements to the Louisville Courier-Journal Tuesday, indicating he has no interest in leaving:

"At some point, just trust me," Strong said. "I'm not looking for a job. I have a job. I'm the head coach at the University of Louisville. I work for an unbelievable athletic director; I work for a guy who has given me everything I have asked for. You have so much support from the university, from the city of Louisville. Now all of a sudden, a guy who couldn't get a job has a job and has some success -- why would we ever think now that he's just going to chop it and leave? The University of Louisville is not going to become a training ground for head coaches."

Of course, college football coaches have a long and storied history of issuing strong denials about a rumored position only to eventually end up taking it.

For now though, it appears that the shortlist for the Texas A&M job just got a little shorter.

Texas A&M Coaching Search: Aggies Considering Louisville's Charlie Strong

The former Florida defensive coordinator has strong ties to the SEC.

Texas A&M Has Not Hired Houston's Kevin Sumlin, Aggies Will Interview Multiple Candidates

There were reports from earlier today that the Houston Cougars head coach Kevin Sumlin was to be named the new Texas A&M head coach within 24 hours. Now according to Brent Zwerneman of the Austin-American Statesman, he is reporting that no decision has been made and that there are other candidates who Texas A&M is considering:

Houston's Kevin Sumlin, Louisville's Charlie Strong and Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart are among the leading candidates early in the process, according to the insiders, following the Thursday firing of Mike Sherman.

An A&M insider said Saturday evening the process is likely to take "a few days." The push for Strong has apparently gained strength in the past day, too, especially following UH's 49-28 loss to Southern Mississippi in Saturday's Conference USA title game at Robertson Stadium.

Zwerneman also said that Texas A&M will be interviewing multiple candidates in addition to Kevin Sumlin.

For more on Texas A&M, visit I Am The 12th Man. For news on college football's coaching changes, visit SB Nation's college football page.

Kevin Sumlin To Texas A&M Latest Reported Destination For Houston Coach

CBS Houston is reporting that Houston head coach will be named head coach at Texas A&M within the next 24 hours.

CBS Houston is reporting that Houston head coach Kevin Sumlin will be named Texas A&M head coach within 24 hours. #UHCougars

Of course this report came during Houston's upset loss to Southern Miss in the Conference USA championship game. Sumlin has been rumored as being sought after by other teams such as Arizona State and UCLA. All the while, Sumlin has maintained that he was focused on the Cougars' next opponent and would discuss a contract extension with Houston who no doubt wants to keep him around. 

Reports also indicate that Arizona State may no longer be pursuing Sumlin which means this situation is fluid and changing constantly. No doubt Texas A&M has Sumlin on their list but this situation may not have played its way out as of yet. 

For more on Houston and the ongoing head coaching changes in college football, check out SB Nation's college football news hub.

Tim DeRuyter Named Interim Coach For Bowl Game

The Texas A&M Aggies are going to accept their bowl bid even though Mike Sherman was fired as the head coach. Needing a coach for the bowl game Texas A&M has named defensive coordinator tim DeRuyter as the interm head coach. DeRuyter has been on the staff since 2010 as the team defensive coordinator, and this is likely a one-game coaching gig as Texas A&M is already looking outside the program for their next head coach.

The bowl options for Texas A&M point to staying in the state and playing in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas which is played on Dec. 31 at Reliant Stadium in Houston. The projected opponents are to be either the Iowa Hawkeyes or Penn St. NIttany Lions. One other bowl option could see the Aggies go play at Yankee Stadium against Rutgers in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl.

For more on Texas A&M, visit I Am The 12th Man. For news on college football's coaching changes, visit SB Nation's college football page.

Mike Sherman Is Out; Was It His Fault?

So, a new coach needs to be smart, confident, a great recruiter and, above all, they need to win. That's all.

That's what got R.C. Slocum fired. That's what got Dennis Franchione shown the door and that's why Mike Sherman is now unemployed.That cycle will continue unless the Aggies can win games and then win some more.

Texas A&M Athletic Director Bill Byrne May Be Gone Next

With the firing of Mike Sherman, despite a possible $8 million buyout the former coach might be owed, it's a new day in the Texas A&M Athletic Department.

Now, there are rumors that the man who hired Sherman, Aggie AD Bill Byrne, might be next:

BrentZwerneman Brent Zwerneman 

With events of past week being last straws (Toole as part of that), an A&M insider told me to expect dismissal of AD Bill Byrne soon. #mysa

41 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

 

BrentZwerneman Brent Zwerneman 

What does soon mean? Could be next week, next month ... but certainly before Byrne's contract is up in 2013. #mysa

40 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

Since coming to Texas A&M in 2003, the football program has bedeviled Bill Byrne. Now that his two prominent head coaching hires -- Dennis Franchione and Bill Byrne -- have not worked out, many in College Station are wondering whether he should be entrusted with this responsibility a third time.

The Aggies athletic department simply can't afford another botched hire, not when they are about to enter the most competitive division in college football, the SEC West, and especially now that they are on the hook for severance packages to both Sherman and the Big 12 conference.

The school's leadership, including Byrne, has been under an even bigger microscope in recent days after Texas A&M's CFO was caught posting unflattering remarks about President R. Bowen Loftin on an internet message board.

Chris Petersen, Kevin Sumlin On Texas A&M's Coaching List, According To Report

As the Texas A&M Aggies search for a replacement for recently fired football coach Mike Sherman, The Statesmen's Kirk Bohl tweeted a short list of early candidates to pick up Sherman's mantle in College Station. 

Kevin Sumlin is already in the middle of his own quagmire between him, Houston and Arizona State, though coaching in the SEC with A&M next season will likely be more lucrative to him than the Pac-12 and ASU. Louisville's Charlie Strong is being named as a candidate elsewhere as well, though like Sumlin would benefit from the money and recognition that comes along with the SEC.

As for Boise State's Chris Peterson, he certainly has seemed comfortable up in Idaho, though is also being tied to the UCLA coaching vacancy as well and simply may be too hard to pull in. All these men would be a nice addition to the Aggies squad, though it should be interesting how all these head coach openings pan out moving forward. 

For more on Texas A&M, visit I Am The 12th Man. For news on college football's coaching changes, visit SB Nation's college football page.

Texas A&M Could Fire Mike Sherman Friday, According To Reports

Reports are being published that after days of waffling, Texas A&M is planning to fire head football coach Mike Sherman as early as tomorrow, despite Sherman meeting with at least one of the Texas A&M board of regents members this afternoon and the understanding of that meeting being Sherman would stay on.

Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman reported that Sherman would be fired but "doesn't know it yet," and that Houston head coach Kevin Sumlin would become A&M's top target, according to his sources. Sumlin was linked to the open Arizona State job earlier today, with reports indicating he'd already been offered the position, but the Houston Chronicle later dispelled that Sumlin received any kind of offer.

For more on Texas A&M, visit I Am The 12th Man. For all the news on college football's coaching changes, visit SB Nation's college football page.

Mike Sherman May Meet With Board Of Regents Thursday

While Texas A&M head football coach Mike Sherman seems likely to be the Aggies football coach next season, rumors continue to swirl around his job status. According to a report from the Austin-American Statesman, he may meet with the A&M board of regents to discuss his future Thursday afternoon:

kbohls kbohls 

Hearing A&M coach Mike Sherman could meet with regents on his future this afternoon, but prez Loftin is in D.C. More smoke.

53 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

Ever since their Thanksgiving Day debacle against Texas, the Texas A&M athletic department has descended into chaos.

On Tuesday, Jeff Toole, the Aggies chief financial officer, posted on the popular message board Texags that he thought school president R. Bowen Loftin was "a putz" and a "hopelessly unqualified puppet". 

With the athletic department already on the hook for a hefty buyout fee to the Big 12, if they want to re-invigorate their fan base before they join the most competitive division in college football, Texas A&M might need a T.Boone Pickens-type booster to eat Sherman's $8 million buyout and replace most of his staff with a SEC-caliber coaches.

Report Indicates That Mike Sherman Will Return To Texas A&M Next Year

A hefty buyout may prevent the Aggies from replacing their embattled football coach.