Todd Graham, Kevin Sumlin both fired on Sunday
Arizona State fired coach Todd Graham after six seasons Sunday, a day after an emotional comeback victory over rival Arizona.
"I don't judge by emotion, I judge by body of work," Arizona athletic director Ray Anderson said. "At the end of the day we're still average, middle of the pack and going to a low bowl game. Frankly, that's not what we aspire to be. I don't think anyone on staff was satisfied with that."
Graham energized Arizona State's program when he left after one season at Pittsburgh season in 2012.
But Arizona State went 17-19 the past three seasons, missing the postseason in 2016. This season, the Sun Devils (7-5, 6-3 Pac-12) finished second in the Pac-12 South to Southern California and will be headed to a lower-tier bowl.
Even after rallying for a 42-30 victory over Arizona in the Territorial Cup, Graham had not done enough to keep his job.
Graham has made numerous stops since graduating from East Central University in Ada, where he was a two-time NAIA AllAmerican defensive back in the 1980s.
He was the head coach at Tulsa from 2007-10, and also the head coach at Carl Albert High School in 1994, a year in which the Titans didn't make the Class 5A playoffs.
Graham, 52, has three seasons left on a contract that runs through the 2020 season and is owed $12 million. Anderson said the school will not use state taxes or student fees to pay for the buyout, but through athletic department-generated revenue.
"I'm very proud of what we've accomplished here," said Graham, who went 46-31 at ASU and will coach the Sun Devils in the bowl game. "I'm very grateful to the university. I'm very fortunate to have been a part of this. It will always be very, very special to me."
Arizona State will pursue a new coach immediately and will handle it internally and not use a search firm. Anderson said the new coach will be someone who has prior head-coaching experience and added the current assistant coaches, notably coordinators Phil Bennett and Billy Napier, will not automatically be replaced.
Texas A&M fires Kevin Sumlin
Texas A&M fired head coach Kevin Sumlin on Sunday, after six winning seasons with the program.
The first black head coach in program history and former OU offensive coordinator was 51-26 and 25-23 in the Southeastern Conference. But his first year at A&M was his best, and he never could come close to matching it.
In 2012, Sumlin had a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback in Johnny Manziel and ushered in the program's move from the Big 12 to the SEC by going 11-2. That earned him a new contract and $5 million annual 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 finished 4-4 in the SEC for the fourth time under Sumlin.
Special teams coach Jeff Banks will be interim coach.
Sumlin, 53, 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 hires Dan Mullen
Florida has hired Mississippi State's Dan Mullen as its next football coach.
The Gators announced the deal Sunday, after Mullen told his team he was returning to Gainesville.
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 in Starkville 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. The Gators averaged 36.3 points a game and 7.1 yards a play during Mullen's tenure.
The Gators have mostly sputtered on offense since.
Stricklin vowed to make Florida fun again when he parted ways with coach Jim McElwain last month. For a week, it looked like Kelly might pacify a frustrated fan base. But Kelly chose UCLA over Florida on Saturday, and Stricklin was left to look elsewhere.
He made the safe choice, one that might not be wildly popular with the Florida faithful.
Still, the 45-year-old Mullen has an impressive resume.
He has 13 years of experience in the rugged Southeastern Conference, knows Florida well, has recruited in the Sunshine State and led the Bulldogs to a bowl game for a school-record eight consecutive years. He is 5-2 in bowls.
Tennessee no longer pursuing Schiano after protests
A person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press that Tennessee is no longer pursuing Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano to be the school's new head coach.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because none of the negotiations were intended to be made public until a deal was reached.
The school and Schiano were close to an agreement earlier Sunday, but the school backed out 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.