Aggies’ Snyder fired

Texas A&M defensive coordinator Mark Snyder has been fired the day after the Aggies allowed 491 yards in a 23-17 loss to LSU to end the regular season. Aggies Coach Kevin Sumlin made the announcement Friday. Linebackers coach Mark Hagen will serve as interim defensive coordinator in the upcoming, to-be-determined bowl. As A&M continued to rank at or near the bottom of the SEC in all major defensive statistics for a second season, it became clear a change could be imminent. Snyder, a former head coach at Marshall, met with members of the media in advance of the LSU game and readily acknowledged coaching as a constant hot-seat, results-based business. Snyder is due to receive his $700,000 salary through March 31, 2016, though that could be offset if he finds new employment. A&M fans will certainly eye fired Florida Coach Will Muschamp as a big-name, likely expensive target as a possibility to replace Snyder, though Muschamp infamously put down College Station in remarks to fans after A&M joined the SEC in 2012. Muschamp was the Texas defensive coordinator and coachin-waiting behind Mack Brown before he became head coach at Florida. “Mark is an outstanding coach and an even better person, but he understands the production needed to be better on the defensive side of the football,” Sumlin said in a statement. Hagen joined A&M in 2013 from Indiana, his alma mater. Hagen and Sumlin served together as assistants at Purdue in 2000 and Hagen coached the Boilermakers for 11 seasons, including as assistant head coach from 2005-2008. Sumlin also made a coaching change around this time a year ago, promoting Jake Spavital to offensive coordinator, with Clarence McKinney remaining on staff as running backs coach.