Report: Texas A&M chancellor mulling decision to fire Sumlin, AD Hyman
If you can trust a Texas Longhorns reporter to break Aggies news, it’s possible that Texas A&M chancellor John Sharp is seriously considering a decision to fire coach Kevin Sumlin and athletic director Eric Hyman.
Horns Digest’s Chip Brown made those proclamations Friday afternoon on “Sports Talk with Bo Mattingly,” an Arkansas radio show.
Brown: The Texas A&M chancellor is unhappy with the direction of the program & is working to terminate Kevin Sumlin’s contract.
— Bo Mattingly (@SportsTalkwBo) December 18, 2015
Brown: There’s a $20M buyout for Sumlin, and I’m told Sharp is going to try and cut that in half or fire Sumlin for cause.
— Bo Mattingly (@SportsTalkwBo) December 18, 2015
Brown: I’m told today that a decision to terminate Sumlin’s contract could also include a decision to get rid of the AD Eric Hyman.
— Bo Mattingly (@SportsTalkwBo) December 18, 2015
One must consider the circumstances and determine for yourself whether this is a realistic possibility.
To summarize the last 10 days in Texas A&M football, you can read the bullet points that follow, or you can skim the hilarious memes and GIFs that fans have created to illustrate the current situation.
- Starting QB Kyle Allen announced his intention to transfer. Later, it was reported that Houston and coach Tom Herman are the favorites to land Allen.
- Fellow five-star QB Kyler Murray announced his decision to transfer as well, leaving the team with one scholarship player at the position — the untested and unknown Jake Hubenak.
- Five-star offensive tackle Greg Little, who played with Murray in high school and at one time was committed to Texas A&M, announced his intention to play for Ole Miss.
- Four-star receiver Quartney Davis de-committed from Texas A&M.
- The Aggies suspended oft-troubled receiver Speedy Noil for the bowl game against Louisville.
- This happened last year, but it’s worth mentioning: 2014 starting quarterback Kenny Hill transferred to TCU after getting benched midway through the season.
Sumlin gets paid $5 million per season. After last year, he hired away defensive coordinator John Chavis from LSU. He’s consistently recruited very well, but ever since he lost Johnny Manziel to the NFL and play-caller Kliff Kingsbury to the Texas Tech head coaching job, his teams have failed to meet expectations.
Most thought that 2016 was a pivotal year for Sumlin, but it isn’t out of the question that things could come to a head sooner. We’ll see if there’s any movement here, or if Sumlin enters 2016 as a lame-duck coach.
Somewhere, LSU coach Les Miles has to be snickering, right?
