It’s been a rough last few months both on and off the field for Kevin Sumlin.
Earlier in the offseason, the Texas A&M head coach’s boss very publicly put Sumlin on the hot seat entering the 2017 season. Then Sunday, following an embarrassing come-from-ahead loss to UCLA, a university went on a social media rant, very publicly calling for the immediate firing.
Predictably, Sumlin was asked about the growing calls for his job in general and the regent’s rant specifically. Just as predictably, Sumlin was measured in his response.
“People are frustrated. I’m frustrated about a lot of things,” Sumlin said by way of ESPN.com. “I’m not real happy. I’m sure there are a lot of things being said about this program.
“Our focus is on us. That never changes. I’m not in the business of really paying attention to anything outside this program, or comments good or bad. My focus is on what we can do to be better. I don’t really have time to get involved in things that are said about the program or about me.”
In 2012, the first season for both Sumlin in College Station and the Aggies in the SEC, A&M went 11-2 overall and 6-2 in conference play. Since then, they’ve gone a middling 33-20 and, more importantly, just 15-17 in the league. More to the point, the Aggies have finished fourth, sixth, fifth and fourth the past four seasons in the even-more hyper-competitive SEC West. An even finer point? They are 9-15 against divisional foes in the same span.
Should the trend of mediocrity continue, it won’t just be a lone regent calling for Sumlin’s head on a platter by season’s end.