Texas A&M football needs to move into the 21st century, and the first order of business is jettisoning the pattern of hiring good old boy clones to be the head coach. Replacing Dennis Franchione with Mike Sherman is like replacing steamed broccoli with steamed carrots. Both are boring and both can be likened to old people.
Does A&M Athletic Director Bill Byrne really think that today's best college football players can connect with and want to play for stodgy old guys who have bounced around at a few coaching jobs? There are old NFL and college coaches who are exceptions . Steve Spurrier, Joe Paterno, Mike Holmgren, Tony Dungy and Joe Gibbs are among them. Mike Sherman is not. These are coaches whose legacies and auras command the attention of young players. Mike Sherman does not have that.
"We just don't want to win football games, we want to win championships," Sherman said. "When you come to work at a place like A&M, you get a special feeling in your gut. You want to please people, you want to get it down."
I could not agree more, but when you are at a program that has been devoid of championship material for so long that your principle rivals do not consider you rivals anymore, you need a serious shakeup. A&M needed someone young who would bring a wind of change and progress, or a legend whose greatness precedes him. Mike Sherman is neither of these. The phrase that comes to mind is "safe hire."
He is an Aggie and has ties in Texas and with the community. He has NFL coaching experience, and had some great seasons with the Green Bay Packers. He is an offensive minded coach at a school begging for an overhaul on offense. But then again, why was he not able to find another head coaching job after being fired by the Packers? Coaches are entitled to their troubled 4-12 seasons, but not in their sixth year and not after a mediocre 2-4 playoff record.
Sherman does not seem like a bad coach, and there seems to be nothing wrong with his character. But this is Texas A&M, and Aggieland demands greatness and victory. I do not think Mike Sherman can make a long-term transformation for Aggie football in that direction.
A&M is setting a dangerous precedent. Continuing to make these "safe hires" is putting the program further behind Oklahoma, Texas and even Texas Tech. Sherman still has to build a recruiting base, and that could take time, time that Aggies won't be willing to give. Byrne said Sherman understands the "Aggie way." The Aggie way is winning, and getting someone who has coached at A&M before does not guarantee that he is a good fit or that he will win.
So the question is whether Aggies are content with the emerging pattern. Safe hire. Good guy. Former Aggie. Limited winning experience. Old and boring. I want to think the answer is no.
"I think our best days are ahead of us," said former A&M coach R.C. Slocum after the announcement. "There is an expectation that we take it a notch higher than what it's been."
We'll see.
