COLLEGE FOOTBALL COACHING CAROUSEL
Reporter says Fisher gets offer
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M fired football coach Kevin Sumlin on Sunday after six winning seasons.
The first black head coach in program history was 51-26 and never had a losing season. But his first year at A&M was his best, and he never could come close to matching it.
Meanwhile, sports director Randy McIlvoy at an NBC affiliate in Houston reported Sunday that Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher has received an offer to succeed Sumlin. McIlvoy posted a tweet Sunday that read, “Sources w/knowledge of TAMU search process tell me Jimbo-Fisher has a deal to be next Head Coach Aggie-Football .Fisher will coach 1 final game at FSU but not Bowl game should they become eligible. I’m told his TAMU contract will be at least 5 yrs/7.5 million per year. KPRC2.”
The Seminoles (5-6) are one game away, against Louisiana Monroe on Saturday in Doak Campbell Stadium, from becoming bowl eligible with hopes to salvage a season that started with preseason No. 3 ranking and College Football Playoff aspirations.
In 2012, Sumlin had a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback in Johnny Manziel and ushered Texas A&M’s move from the Big 12 to the Southeastern Conference by going 11-2. That earned him a new contract and $5 million per year salary, but the Aggies have not won more than nine games since.
The Aggies ended their regular season on Saturday by losing to LSU. They dropped to 7-5 and finish 4-4 in the SEC for the fourth time under Sumlin.
The 53-year-old Sumlin had two years left on his contract, which calls for a $10 million buyout to be paid within 60 days of his termination. Texas A&M said the terms of the deal would be honored.
FLORIDA: Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen was hired as the Gators’ next coach. Spurned by Chip Kelly and seemingly unwilling to risk waiting for UCF’s Scott Frost to possibly do the same, Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin turned to Mullen. Stricklin and Mullen worked together from 2009 to 2016. Stricklin was Mississippi State’s athletic director for seven of those years.
Mullen previously spent four years (2005-08) as Florida’s offensive coordinator and won two national championships while guiding Tim Tebow to the top of the school record books.
ARIZONA STATE: Arizona State fired coach Todd Graham was fired after six seasons as coach on Sunday despite a 42-30 win over rival Arizona on Saturday. The Sun Devils (7-5, 6-2 Pac-12) finished second in the Pac-12 South behind Southern California.
OLE MISS: The school announced it’s Matt Luke as coach, three days after the Rebels (6-6, 3-5 SEC) finished the regular season with an emotional 31-28 victory over No. 16 Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl.
TENNESSEE: The school is no longer pursuing Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano to be the school’s new head coach, The Associated Press reported Sunday. The school and Schiano were close to an agreement, but the deal fell apart after widespread backlash that included a protest on campus and complaints on social media from fans, state representatives and gubernatorial candidates.
Their complaints stemmed from Schiano’s background as an assistant at Penn State during Jerry Sandusky’s tenure as the Nittany Lions’ defensive coordinator. Sandusky is serving 30 to 60 years in prison for his conviction on 45 counts of sexual abuse.
MICHIGAN: Wilton Speight is leaving as a graduate transfer, the senior quarterback announced Sunday on Instagram.
AP POLL: Clemson is the new No. 1 in the poll, taking a close vote with Oklahoma after the top two teams in the rankings lost in the same weekend for the first time since 2012. No. 25 Fresno State was the only team to move into the rankings this week.
BOWL BID: The UAB Blazers (8-4) will cap their first season back on the field by facing Ohio (8-4) in the Bahamas Bowl on Dec. 22.