Texas A&M fired head football coach Mike Sherman Thursday night after he led a preseason Top-10 Aggie team to a 6-6 overall, 4-5 Big 12 record.
“Mike Sherman has operated our football program with the highest levels of character and integrity over the past four seasons and has served as a great ambassador for Texas A&M University,” A&M Athletic Director Bill Byrne said in a statement. “Mike always put the welfare of the student-athlete and Texas A&M first.”
Byrne also said A&M will choose its interim head coach for its future bowl game after talking with coaches and players Friday.
Jason Cook, chief communications officer for the A&M System, said Sherman’s one-year extension approved by the Board of Regents in July “has not been executed.” Cook said the original contract is still binding.
“We’re looking at liquidated damages according to his initial contract, which would be about $5.8 million,” Cook said. “If he gets another job, professional or college, that would offset against Texas A&M’s obligation under the buyout.”
Cook said the decision was made by University officials — likely Byrne and University President R. Bowen Loftin — without requiring final approval by the A&M System Board of Regents.
“There’s been conversations, sure,” Cook said of Loftin discussing the decision with board members. “Board action is not required to terminate a football coach.”
A source with close ties to the regents indicated that regent James Wilson was likely the most involved, saying Wilson often drives coaching and athletics decisions.
Houston-area recruit and four-star commit Matt Davis tweeted that Sherman had nothing but kind words for A&M after hearing the news.
“The one thing I love about [Sherman] is he said, ‘Matt, A&M is a great place and I still think you should go there and do great things’ a true man,” the Klein Forest High School quarterback tweeted.
Davis quickly reiterated his commitment to A&M by tweeting “#AggSwaggMovement Still in EFFECT!” The “Agg Swagg Movement” has been a rallying point for A&M’s No. 9-ranked 2012 recruiting class.
Media outlets reported that Sherman was fired while on a recruiting trip.
Taylor Andrus, senior information and operations management major, said
Sherman deserved to find out about his termination before visiting with recruits.
“It’s awful how Kirk Bohls, an Austin [American] Statesman journalist, knew about his firing before Mike Sherman did,” Andrus said. “Sherman left our program in 10-times better shape than [former head coach Dennis] Franchione did.”
A high-ranking A&M official with knowledge of the situation confirmed that University of Houston head coach Kevin Sumlin tops the list of potential replacements.
“We don’t comment on speculation,” said Richard Bonnin, University of Houston executive director of media relations. “We’re focused on winning a conference championship game on Saturday.”
Yahoo Sports reported Thursday that a split inside A&M administration on Sherman’s future may have placed Byrne on the hot seat as well.
“Bill Byrne has done well in every sport [except] football and he’s made a fool of us in football,” Andrus said.
Sherman started his career at Texas A&M in 2008 with a 4-8 record and steadily improved, going 6-7 the following year and 9-4 in 2010.
A&M lost key defensive players Von Miller and Michael Hodges to graduation following the 2010 season. Miller, who now plays for the Denver Broncos and is on pace to break the NFL rookie record for sacks, was A&M’s sack leader while Hodges led the team in tackles.
“It’s unfortunate to see Coach Sherm go. He is like another father to me. He helped me become the person I am today. I will never forget, never,” Miller tweeted Thursday.
A&M’s high-powered offense was touted to have championship potential, returning all but one starter from last season. But the unit played inconsistently throughout this season, surrendering four second-half double-digit leads.
Opponents outscored A&M 76-7 in the third quarter of the team’s six losses.
On the recruiting front, Sherman cracked the Top 10 for the first time with a No. 9 ranking on ESPN’s 2012 poll that was last updated Nov. 22.
Several recruits, including Davis, affirmed their commitments to A&M Thursday night following the announcement, even as the University seeks to fill the head coaching position.