SEC Football: Momentum, who has ‘Big Mo’ and who is stuck with ‘No Mo’
By Ronald Evans
Texas A&M – Kevin Sumlin – ‘No Mo’
Kevin Sumlin’s seat is so hot in College Station, it matters not if Hugh Freeze, Brain Kelly and Todd Graham lose their jobs first. The new Early Signing Period may escalate the exits of all four before December.
In 2016 the Aggies were 6-0 after knocking off Tennessee on October 8. After an off-week they lost to Alabama, beginning a precipitous fall. Texas A&M won only two more games in 2016, beating New Mexico Stated and Texas-San Antonio.
The losses to Mississippi State, Ole Miss and the Kansas State bowl loss were close games. The last home loss to LSU (54-39) fell far short of expectations for the ambitious Aggie program.
Texas A&M has invested big money in upgrading everything about its football program. In 2013, The Eagle reported Texas A&M would spend $450 million renovating Kyle Field. Kevin Sumlin makes $5 million per year.
That kind of money demands lots of football success, so far not delivered by Sumlin. In May on the Paul Finebaum Show, A&M’s AD Scott Woodward stated, as reported by Dennis Dodd.
"“Coach Sumlin knows he has to win. He has to win this year. He has to do better than he has done in the past.”"
Sumlin has a $10 million buyout but that is nothing in Texas money. Actually with the dollars explosion in SEC football, it is not much money many places.
Can Sumlin regain traction from ‘No Mo’ and save his job? Woodward would not define a win minimum for 2017. We guess the minimum is nine wins, but it could be ten. It is impossible to predict.
Sumlin will head into fall camp not settled at quarterback. UCLA in the Rose Bowl on September 3 is a must-win for a bit of breathing room.