Texas A&M fired head football coach Kevin Sumlin after the season. Days later, Sumlin’s name has already surfaced for three prominent jobs: at Arizona State, Florida State, and now Tennessee. Let’s focus in on the Vols, who seem the likeliest of those.
The Kevin Sumlin rumors tracker: UCF?
Sumlin might be a good fit in Orlando.
Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Sumlin is due a $10.4 million buyout from Texas A&M, and it doesn’t go down in the event Sumlin gets hired elsewhere. It’s also all coming to him within two months.
Sumlin was 51-26 in six seasons in College Station. His best year was his first: 2012. He lost exactly five games every year from 2014 through this year.
UCF and Sumlin
Scott Frost is leaving the Knights for Nebraska. Enter Sumlin, maybe?
Sumlin might not be a bad fit at UCF, just like Charlie Strong wasn’t at UCF. He’s a good recruiter who’s been successful at similarly sized programs before, and it’s not like he’s old enough that he can’t have another good, extended run in him. Sumlin also might use the job as a springboard if he gets it, and that can work for everyone.
Tennessee and Sumlin
The Vols tried to hire NC State coach Dave Doeren after their attempted hire of Greg Schiano went up in an unprecedented explosion of fan backlash. Doeren decided to stay in Raleigh, which led ESPN to report Thursday on UT’s interest in Sumlin:
With Doeren staying at NC State, Tennessee plans to talk to former Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin, sources tell ESPN.
And:
College basketball reporter Doug Gottlieb added the following on Thursday night:
By the end of the evening on Thursday, it looked like Sumlin’s ship was close to sailing.
The Vols fired Butch Jones shortly before the end of the season.
Florida State and Sumlin
Football Scoop reported Sumlin could head to Tallahassee in the event Jimbo Fisher leaves FSU for Texas A&M. That’d be a coach swap.
A source indicated to SB Nation’s Bud Elliott that such a hiring was not likely:
Arizona State and Sumlin
After ASU fired Todd Graham, Sumlin’s name quickly emerged:
Some thought a deal was close to happening, but it wasn’t, and ASU is now reportedly closing in on Herm Edwards. Sumlin won’t be going to Tempe.
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