October 20, 2008

Tommy Bowden to be next coach at Texas A&M?

Here's a delicious rumor for you....

Word out of Dallas says a small but potentially vocal booster block is pushing for Texas A&M to fire Mike Sherman as head coach of the Aggies.

Sherman, who was expected to have a strong & talented coaching staff, has been a disappointment in his first season in College Station. Just 2-5 on the season (0-3 Big XII), there is a legitimate question as to if he can even tie Coach Fran's worst season (4-8) at Texas A&M.

Jerome Soloman of the Houston Chronicle rattles off the state of the Texas A&M football under Sherman.

After Saturday's 43-25 loss to Texas Tech, Jeff Sagarin's computer has A&M's resume rated 110th in the country.

According to Sagarin's calculations, the Aggies have performed better than only two BCS-conference schools -- No. 117 Washington and No. 120 Syracuse -- and been outperformed by a host of lower-level Division I schools and even 12 Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) squads.

To break it down a little further:

Not only is A&M ranked below Southern Cal, it is behind Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo.

Ranking below Louisiana State is acceptable; being behind Louisiana-Lafayette is not.

Trailing Florida State is OK, but looking up to Florida International is pathetic.

Let's not even get into the embarrassment of being rated behind William and Mary.

Breaking down the Aggies on both sides of the ball reveals a poor team that is playing nowhere near the Big XII pre-season number five expectations set for it.

Overall, the Aggies rank #101 nationwide in total defense and #76 in total offense through their first six games (that's without the pitiful performance against Texas Tech - where the Aggies gave up 561 yards on defense and managed just 6 of 14 third down conversions with three turnovers on offense).

WIthout the Texas Tech debacle factored in, the Aggies are the worst (or one of the worst) in nearly every statistical category in the Big XII:

#12 of 12 in Turnover Margin

#10 of 12 in Total Offense

#11 of 12 in Scoring Offense

#10 of 12 in Rushing Offense

#10 of 12 in Total Defense

#12 of 12 in Scoring Defense

#12 of 12 in Rushing Defense

#9 of 12 in Net Punting

#10 of 12 in Punt Returns

#11 of 12 in Kickoff Returns

It appears certain that Texas A&M will lose five games at Kyle Field this season for the first time... ever, and it has the boosters talking.

And who is this small booster block discussing? Former Clemson Tigers head coach Tommy Bowden.

Despite his mid-season resignation at Clemson, there's no disputing Bowden's record as head coach at Tulane and Clemson. Bowden's Green Wave went 12-0 and achieved a top-10 final ranking in both polls in 1998, before being hired as head coach at Clemson.

With the exception of a self-imposed bowl-game ban in 2004, Bowden's teams went to bowl games in every season during his tenure - eight times in nine years.

Bowden rebuilt Clemson into a consistent top-twenty team year-in and year-out, and he demonstrated a great ability to rally the booster base for fundraising. Bowden's staff was filled with strong recruiters and he consistently out-recruited SEC and ACC teams in the skill positions.

Bowden set Clemson records for the highest scoring season, second highest scoring season, third highest scoring season and fourth highest scoring season in team history.

And - perhaps most importantly - Bowden showed that he could beat Clemson's biggest rivals, going 7-1 against South Carolina and winning three straight against FSU.

At age 54, Bowden seems to have the passion and window of opportunity to lead a team for the next ten plus years. He almost left Clemson last season to take the position at Arkansas but opted to accept a contract extension that kept him at CU.

Having built a winner at the state's smaller public university with a strong military tradition, he understands the unique character that schools like Clemson and Texas A&M have to offer recruits.

Again... this appears to be just a well-placed rumor - not quite message board fodder - but a rumor nonetheless.

Tommy Bowden as head coach at Texas A&M... what say you??

Comments:

Tommy Bowden to be next coach at Texas A&M?
Here's a delicious rumor for you.... Word out of Dallas says a small but potentially vocal booster block is pushing for Texas A&M to fire Mike Sherman as head coach of the Aggies. Sherman, who was expected to have a strong & talented coaching staff, has been a disappointment in his first season in College Station. Just 2-5 on the season (0-3 Big XII), there is a legitimate question as to if he can even tie Coach Fran's worst season (4-8) at Texas A&M. Jerome Soloman of the Houston Chronicle rattles off the state of the Texas A&M football under Sherman.
After Saturday's 43-25 loss to Texas Tech, Jeff Sagarin's computer has A&M's resume rated 110th in the country. According to Sagarin's calculations, the Aggies have performed better than only two BCS-conference schools -- No. 117 Washington and No. 120 Syracuse -- and been outperformed by a host of lower-level Division I schools and even 12 Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) squads. To break it down a little further: Not only is A&M ranked below Southern Cal, it is behind Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. Ranking below Louisiana State is acceptable; being behind Louisiana-Lafayette is not. Trailing Florida State is OK, but looking up to Florida International is pathetic. Let's not even get into the embarrassment of being rated behind William and Mary.
Breaking down the Aggies on both sides of the ball reveals a poor team that is playing nowhere near the Big XII pre-season number five expectations set for it. Overall, the Aggies rank #101 nationwide in total defense and #76 in total offense through their first six games (that's without the pitiful performance against Texas Tech - where the Aggies gave up 561 yards on defense and managed just 6 of 14 third down conversions with three turnovers on offense). WIthout the Texas Tech debacle factored in, the Aggies are the worst (or one of the worst) in nearly every statistical category in the Big XII: #12 of 12 in Turnover Margin #10 of 12 in Total Offense #11 of 12 in Scoring Offense #10 of 12 in Rushing Offense #10 of 12 in Total Defense #12 of 12 in Scoring Defense #12 of 12 in Rushing Defense #9 of 12 in Net Punting #10 of 12 in Punt Returns #11 of 12 in Kickoff Returns It appears certain that Texas A&M will lose five games at Kyle Field this season for the first time... ever, and it has the boosters talking. And who is this small booster block discussing? Former Clemson Tigers head coach Tommy Bowden. Despite his mid-season resignation at Clemson, there's no disputing Bowden's record as head coach at Tulane and Clemson. Bowden's Green Wave went 12-0 and achieved a top-10 final ranking in both polls in 1998, before being hired as head coach at Clemson. With the exception of a self-imposed bowl-game ban in 2004, Bowden's teams went to bowl games in every season during his tenure - eight times in nine years. Bowden rebuilt Clemson into a consistent top-twenty team year-in and year-out, and he demonstrated a great ability to rally the booster base for fundraising. Bowden's staff was filled with strong recruiters and he consistently out-recruited SEC and ACC teams in the skill positions. Bowden set Clemson records for the highest scoring season, second highest scoring season, third highest scoring season and fourth highest scoring season in team history. And - perhaps most importantly - Bowden showed that he could beat Clemson's biggest rivals, going 7-1 against South Carolina and winning three straight against FSU. At age 54, Bowden seems to have the passion and window of opportunity to lead a team for the next ten plus years. He almost left Clemson last season to take the position at Arkansas but opted to accept a contract extension that kept him at CU. Having built a winner at the state's smaller public university with a strong military tradition, he understands the unique character that schools like Clemson and Texas A&M have to offer recruits. Again... this appears to be just a well-placed rumor - not quite message board fodder - but a rumor nonetheless. Tommy Bowden as head coach at Texas A&M... what say you??