Texas A&M regent calls for Kevin Sumlin firing after UCLA loss
UCLA pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in college football history against Texas A&M Sunday night. Of course, that means the Aggies were also responsible for an epic collapse, and at least one influential person at the school wants head coach Kevin Sumlin gone because of it.
After Texas A&M blew a 34-point lead, Houston attorney Tony Buzbee — a regent at the university — called for Sumlin to lose his job in a Facebook post.
“I’m sure I may be criticized for this post but I honestly don’t care. I’ve been on the Board of Regents for the A&M System for almost seven years. During that time, I’ve not once commented on Kevin Sumlin and his performance during his tenure at our school,” Buzbee wrote. “I never said a word when he and his agent manipulated a much bigger and longer contract. I said nothing about his arrogance and his mishandling of multiple player controversies. I said nothing when we had multiple awesome recruiting classes, only to see key players leave our school or underperform.
“But tonight I am very disappointed and I have to say this. Kevin Sumlin was out-coached tonight, which isn’t new. He recruits well, but can’t coach the big games, or the close games. Our players were better tonight. Our players were more talented tonight. But our coaches were dominated on national TV, yet again.”
Buzbee said he will vote for Sumlin to be dismissed when the time comes, but he believes the 53-year-old coach should be fired immediately.
“I’m only one vote on the Board of Regents but when the time comes my vote will be that Kevin Sumlin needs to GO. In my view he should go now,” he wrote. “We owe it to our school and our players. We can do better.”
In an email to the Houston Chronicle, Buzbee noted that he was the only regent who expressed “grave concern” about Sumlin last year and reiterated that the university expects more of its football coach.
Sumlin’s contract runs through the 2019 season and pays him $5 million annually. The Aggies have gone 8-5 in each of the past two seasons and 4-4 in the SEC, losing in the Music City Bowl in 2015 and Texas Bowl last year.
Judging by some of the tweets we saw after A&M’s collapse on Sunday, Buzbee is not the only person who wants to see Sumlin lose his job.
