Head coach Mike Sherman has filled the three vacancies on his coaching staff this evening, including one who will be a very popular hire amongst the Aggie faithful.
According to the school’s official website, Sherman has hired Dat Nguyen as his inside linebackers coach, Steve Kragthorpe as wide receivers coach, and Nick Toth as the outside linebackers coach.
""I have completed my coaching staff and I am very excited about this group of men,” Sherman said of the hires. “Not only are they excellent coaches and recruiters, but they are teachers of the game. I believe we have an excellent mix of solid veteran coaches with some outstanding young coaches.”
While Kragthorpe was the most experienced hire Sherman made this weekend -- Kragthorpe has been the head coach at stops in Tulsa and, most recently, Louisville -- the most popular one will be Nguyen.
The former Dallas Cowboys assistant was an All-American linebacker at the university in the nineties and, based on the email we’ve received since his name first surfaced in connection to the opening, is still one of the most beloved figures in the history of the Aggies.
“I could not be happier about returning to Aggieland to work on Coach Mike Sherman’s staff,” Nguyen said. “I am ecstatic about having this opportunity to work with Coach DeRuyter and I am very familiar with the 3-4 scheme. I look forward to working with all of the coaches and staff as well as the outstanding Aggie football players. I have a great passion for teaching and a great passion to help our team win championships.”
Sherman was effusive in his praise for Nguyen
“I am very excited to announce Dat Nguyen has joined our staff to coach inside linebackers,” Sherman said. “The fact that Dat was a great player for the Texas Aggies and the Dallas Cowboys had considerably less to do with his hiring. It was the fact that he thoroughly impressed me in two separate interviews, one in Dallas on Wednesday of last week, and one in College Station on Thursday. His intelligence, knowledge and passion for the game are what impressed me most. It was also evident to me while listening to him during the interview that he has played and coached with some of the finest defensive head coaches in the game of football- namely R.C. Slocum, Bill Parcells and Wade Phillips. He evidently has paid attention through the years.”
“On a side note,” Sherman explained. “I must admit his story on how he got to A&M as a not so highly recruited athlete is one worth repeating. For him to rise his senior year toward being one of the country’s best linebackers is a credit to his discipline, focus and determination. To ultimately get drafted by the Dallas Cowboys is just another example of how this Texas high school football player realized his goals through hard work and commitment. He made the most out of his opportunity and should prove to be a valuable lesson to both recruits and players. Again, I am extremely excited to have Dat on the staff. When I offered him the job early Friday morning, he was anxious to get started with coaching the linebackers.”