Let the rumor mill turn, part I:
We enter the second week between the season and the bowls with no movement on the OC front. The dead period is upon us, so it's time for Kevin Sumlin to get serious on this front. I'm going to say this right now: I don't think he wants to make a move. I think he'd rather keep Jake Spavital. Then again, he didn't want to make a move last year with Mark Snyder, and it was essentially determined that there was no other way to move forward. That's where we are with the OC job, whether he likes it or not. He doesn't, but he's a realist.
So who's out there? The first option I thought of was former Pitt OC Jim Chaney, who had worked with Sumlin in the past. BZZT. Off the board. He's now Kirby Smart's OC at Georgia. I know there was an interest in A&M's part, but I don't know how far that interest progressed. A few other guys I've talked about with some of you and with Rob are Dana Holgerson at West Virginia and Kevin Wilson at Indiana. But both of those guys seem likely to hang on to their own head coaching jobs and won't be looking for a one- or two-year rebound gig on A&M's schedule. So they're likely out. We're going to start really digging through some guys here today and over the next few days to look for someone who operates a scheme similar to what Sumlin wants -- and for the handful of you wanting I formation, pro set schemes with the QB under center, forget it. That's a non-starter. But this HAS to be a big name. There's too much at stake for it not to be.
Let the rumor mill turn, part II:
What if Sumlin finds a way to get off the hot seat? There is a way -- the NFL. Over the weekend, we got hit from a bunch of directions indicating that A&M's head coach has, at the very least, shown some interest in head coaching jobs at the next level over the past few weeks. Who might have an opening? Some options include Cleveland, who is almost certain to ditch Mike Pettine at season's end; Miami, which has been a disappointment this year and has already switched to Dan Campbell as their interim guy; Indianapolis, which has been another real big bust this year and got crushed yesterday by Jacksonville; Detroit, which has been putrid and has already fired GM Martin Mayhew, and San Diego, which is 3-9 and likely moving to L.A.
I was also told BMAs are aware of Sumlin's looking and are not happy about it. That, I think, means absolutely zip unless they're going to try to force his hand into a buyout situation, and why would he do that?
We get a lot of rumors thrown our way, some of which are debunked and some prove to be accurate and you have to pick which ones to discuss. This one will probably be denied swiftly (and remember, coaches DO NOT talk to teams. Their agents do.), so be ready for the denial. But when you get reports from different sources in the span of an hour or so and they're fairly specific, it merits both mentioning and watching.
Oh, and for those of you who would dismiss these rumors as stupid, a word of caution: Sumlin remains a popular guy in NFL circles and you only have to convince one guy you're right for the job. If Mike Pettine can get an NFL gig, anyone can.
The Aggie QB triage project
Now that Kyle Allen is gone, where do the Aggies go? Fletch mentioned some names, so I'll throw a few of the obvious out there.
Justice Hanson: This would likely be my first choice. He obviously knows A&M as it came down to the Aggies and Sooners last time, and he's at a JUCO right now so he can play immediately. He knows what A&M is going to want to do offensively (probably) already. Of course, he never did sniff the two-deep at OU, so he may not be all that.
Trevor Knight: One-year rental, lost his job at OU and, bluntly, had only one game where it looked like he knew what he was doing throwing the ball. This would be a fallback option.
Jalen Hurts: The Channelview QB liked A&M a lot before committing to Alabama, and if you look at depth charts now, A&M's may lead to faster playing time. They'd have to really work their butts off to get him to take another look, though.
Nick Starkel: The former Oklahoma State commit put himself back on the market last night, and that seems like one heck of a coincidence. He wouldn't be an immediate threat to start, but he's a guy that they could bring in and develop for a season. Then, hopefully, he's there to fill out the depth chart with Kyler Murray and Tate Martell in 2017.
We'll look for more stuff as we go this week, but it's going to be very hard for the Aggies to pull someone they do not have an established relationship with. There's just not enough time to do it.
A look at the visitors this weekend
Ok, it's established that the Aggies got one guy, Ryan McCollum, for the 2016 class over the weekend. This was no real shock; the offensive lineman (he's a tackle) had been leaning A&M's way for a few weeks and they closed him out.
Brandon Jones, from initial indications, had a great time. He's been an A&M lean for forever and I think it's down to A&M and Texas. I think the Aggies like their chances and have set things up so they'll have last dibs on him in January in terms of in-home visits. That's a good position to be in.
Ross Blacklock tweeted out how much fun he had. He's a tougher guy to read and pretty quiet, but having him in with this bunch probably bodes well for A&M.
Jeffery McCulloch didn't come. He'll be in for an official in January, and odds are that will be the big weekend at the end of the process where all the commits and big-name uncommitted players come in. Again, that bodes well for the Aggies and I think that, barring a screwup, they get him.
Irv Smith visited Texas this weekend. Why? Because Texas use TE like NFL, of course. That is, if anyone can get the ball to him. I know A&M is not in the best of shape offensively at the moment, but if you look at talent on campus and incoming that can affect Smith, he's not switching. He'd just end up blocking his whole career at Texas. At least at A&M, there's a chance of being used along with Jordan Davis if a system similar to what Dave Christensen installed at Mizzou is put into use.
We enter the second week between the season and the bowls with no movement on the OC front. The dead period is upon us, so it's time for Kevin Sumlin to get serious on this front. I'm going to say this right now: I don't think he wants to make a move. I think he'd rather keep Jake Spavital. Then again, he didn't want to make a move last year with Mark Snyder, and it was essentially determined that there was no other way to move forward. That's where we are with the OC job, whether he likes it or not. He doesn't, but he's a realist.
So who's out there? The first option I thought of was former Pitt OC Jim Chaney, who had worked with Sumlin in the past. BZZT. Off the board. He's now Kirby Smart's OC at Georgia. I know there was an interest in A&M's part, but I don't know how far that interest progressed. A few other guys I've talked about with some of you and with Rob are Dana Holgerson at West Virginia and Kevin Wilson at Indiana. But both of those guys seem likely to hang on to their own head coaching jobs and won't be looking for a one- or two-year rebound gig on A&M's schedule. So they're likely out. We're going to start really digging through some guys here today and over the next few days to look for someone who operates a scheme similar to what Sumlin wants -- and for the handful of you wanting I formation, pro set schemes with the QB under center, forget it. That's a non-starter. But this HAS to be a big name. There's too much at stake for it not to be.
Let the rumor mill turn, part II:
What if Sumlin finds a way to get off the hot seat? There is a way -- the NFL. Over the weekend, we got hit from a bunch of directions indicating that A&M's head coach has, at the very least, shown some interest in head coaching jobs at the next level over the past few weeks. Who might have an opening? Some options include Cleveland, who is almost certain to ditch Mike Pettine at season's end; Miami, which has been a disappointment this year and has already switched to Dan Campbell as their interim guy; Indianapolis, which has been another real big bust this year and got crushed yesterday by Jacksonville; Detroit, which has been putrid and has already fired GM Martin Mayhew, and San Diego, which is 3-9 and likely moving to L.A.
I was also told BMAs are aware of Sumlin's looking and are not happy about it. That, I think, means absolutely zip unless they're going to try to force his hand into a buyout situation, and why would he do that?
We get a lot of rumors thrown our way, some of which are debunked and some prove to be accurate and you have to pick which ones to discuss. This one will probably be denied swiftly (and remember, coaches DO NOT talk to teams. Their agents do.), so be ready for the denial. But when you get reports from different sources in the span of an hour or so and they're fairly specific, it merits both mentioning and watching.
Oh, and for those of you who would dismiss these rumors as stupid, a word of caution: Sumlin remains a popular guy in NFL circles and you only have to convince one guy you're right for the job. If Mike Pettine can get an NFL gig, anyone can.
The Aggie QB triage project
Now that Kyle Allen is gone, where do the Aggies go? Fletch mentioned some names, so I'll throw a few of the obvious out there.
Justice Hanson: This would likely be my first choice. He obviously knows A&M as it came down to the Aggies and Sooners last time, and he's at a JUCO right now so he can play immediately. He knows what A&M is going to want to do offensively (probably) already. Of course, he never did sniff the two-deep at OU, so he may not be all that.
Trevor Knight: One-year rental, lost his job at OU and, bluntly, had only one game where it looked like he knew what he was doing throwing the ball. This would be a fallback option.
Jalen Hurts: The Channelview QB liked A&M a lot before committing to Alabama, and if you look at depth charts now, A&M's may lead to faster playing time. They'd have to really work their butts off to get him to take another look, though.
Nick Starkel: The former Oklahoma State commit put himself back on the market last night, and that seems like one heck of a coincidence. He wouldn't be an immediate threat to start, but he's a guy that they could bring in and develop for a season. Then, hopefully, he's there to fill out the depth chart with Kyler Murray and Tate Martell in 2017.
We'll look for more stuff as we go this week, but it's going to be very hard for the Aggies to pull someone they do not have an established relationship with. There's just not enough time to do it.
A look at the visitors this weekend
Ok, it's established that the Aggies got one guy, Ryan McCollum, for the 2016 class over the weekend. This was no real shock; the offensive lineman (he's a tackle) had been leaning A&M's way for a few weeks and they closed him out.
Brandon Jones, from initial indications, had a great time. He's been an A&M lean for forever and I think it's down to A&M and Texas. I think the Aggies like their chances and have set things up so they'll have last dibs on him in January in terms of in-home visits. That's a good position to be in.
Ross Blacklock tweeted out how much fun he had. He's a tougher guy to read and pretty quiet, but having him in with this bunch probably bodes well for A&M.
Jeffery McCulloch didn't come. He'll be in for an official in January, and odds are that will be the big weekend at the end of the process where all the commits and big-name uncommitted players come in. Again, that bodes well for the Aggies and I think that, barring a screwup, they get him.
Irv Smith visited Texas this weekend. Why? Because Texas use TE like NFL, of course. That is, if anyone can get the ball to him. I know A&M is not in the best of shape offensively at the moment, but if you look at talent on campus and incoming that can affect Smith, he's not switching. He'd just end up blocking his whole career at Texas. At least at A&M, there's a chance of being used along with Jordan Davis if a system similar to what Dave Christensen installed at Mizzou is put into use.
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