Is Sherman Dead Coach Walking?

[Left Seater]

Is Sherman done? Should he be? Going into this weekends game at OU he is 24-22 overall at ATM and 14-15 in conference. If he loses to both OU and at KSU the following week he will be .500 for his ATM career and three games under .500 in conference.

Three double digit leads at halftime this season all became losses. The Tech win looked decent until Tech got blown out at home by Iowa State.

I say back up the Brinks truck and sign Urban Meyer.

[Van]

ATM is not a destination gig. Meyer would be taking a huge step down to go there. The ND and Ohio St jobs are likely coming free soon, and so may the USC spot. UCLA is a definite, though also a step down.

Then there's the NFL. South Beach might look mighty attractive, especially if Miami can beat out Indy for Andrew Luck.

Point being, why on earth would he go to ATM when there are so many better opportunities that are likely to become available?

[Carson]

Gus Malzahn is my guess. :x

[Bizzarofelice]

no worries for aggie. they won't lose to KState.

[campinfool]

I just don't get A&M ever being talked about as a big time program. Sure I have a biased view from Austin, but when was A&M worth a shit nationally? Most Aggies I know personally long for the days of Sherrill or Slocum. But I don't believe either coach ever had a top 5 finish and neither was adept at winning bowl games. The pinnacle of Aggie football success either revolves around an era where rampant cheating went on, yet they could not win a bowl game. Or Slocum's squads who dominated what was the dead man walking shell of a conference of the SWC. Just don't get them.

[King Crimson]

i thought Patterson might be an option at some point after Sherman (weird hire in the first place) played out....when TCU was in the non AQ MWC...but now?

if Sherman continues to circle the drain and under-achieve....then i'd guess a run at Sumlin. KS was at ATM when Dino Babers was the OC and called the plays in an upset W over then #1 Oklahoma (02 I think) that featured the debut of Reggie McNeal. The game is fairly legendary on ATM boards.

[Terry in Crapchester]

The ND . . . job[] [is] likely coming free soon . . .

While I agree with the overall sentiment in your post, you're making a leap of faith in posting this that I'm not yet ready to make.

First, I should point out that this turns, at least in part, on one's definition of "soon." ND can't act on the buyout provision in Kelly's contract until the end of Year 3, at the earliest. This is only Year 2. So the only way Kelly gets fired before the end of next season is if: (a) he commits a crime; (b) he commits a major NCAA rules infraction (which likely wouldn't come to light before the end of next year, anyway); or (c) there is a steep decline in player graduation rates that is not explained by some non-academic reason (e.g., significant number of transfers and/or early entrants to NFL draft).

And while I'm getting ahead of myself, it's worth noting that ND should win its next three games (@ Wake Forest; vs. Maryland in Screwy's adopted hometown; then home vs. Fredo). Assuming we drop the season finale to Stanford, that leaves us with an 8-4 record, and likely a bowl game scenario (most likely bet: Champs Sports Bowl vs. Florida State) that's a tossup. Win that bowl game, and we're 9-4, a one-game improvement over last year against a schedule that was at least nominally slightly tougher. I don't think Kelly's seat will be terribly hot next year, in that case. Among ND's fanbase, Kelly has his detractors, to be sure, but I think the majority of ND's fanbase is of the opinion that the jury is still out on him.

And even if Kelly is toast, it's far from a given that ND would hire Meyer, even if he were available and wanted the job. A significant portion of ND's fanbase is still pissed at him over '04, with the feeling being that he already had made up his mind to take the Florida job even before ND approached him, and that he strung ND along under false pretenses. Perhaps even more important is the string of off-field incidents that plagued the Florida program during Meyer's tenure there. ND fans don't want to win that way.

if Sherman continues to circle the drain and under-achieve....then i'd guess a run at Sumlin.

Isn't Sumlin at Houston now? If Houston joins the Big East and the Big East retains its AQ status, I'd have to guess that job might be better than the aTm job, at least from the standpoint of potential to win, particularly with aTm headed to the SEC.

[Harvdog]

I thought A&M was back?

They are back.....back to being a .500 team that has the 7th best winning percentage in the history of the Big XII. That is going to look really good to all the aggy fans when they are 4-8 for the next few years.

Enjoy Kentucky and Vanderbilt.....I bet they are licking their chops thinking about 1 guaranteed "W" a year

[Left Seater]

Update on Sherman:

25 -25 over all in four seasons at ATM

14 - 18 in conference play

0 - 2 in bowl games

Third season of five or more conference losses


How can they keep him?