The Aggies sure have been on a roll. 10-2 in their first season in the SEC, a win over the No. 1 team in the country (at the time), some just fearsome schoolboy commitments, a slew of coaching and player awards, culminating in JFF's Heisman win, unthinkable before the season started. And now the other shoe has dropped: offensive coordinator/quarterback coach, Kliff Kingsbury, has accepted the head coaching position at his alma mater, Texas Tech.
As soon as Tuberville walked out on the Red Radars, Oxey and I began discussing the possibility of losing Kingsbury. We agreed that Tech needed to snag either a) a big name or b) a storied Tech alum in order to overcome Tech's inherent problems: recruiting and location. I was of the opinion that Kingsbury wouldn't want to leave A&M right now....with all of its promise for the next few years including (dare I say it?) contending for a national championship. Oxey opined that Tech would want someone more seasoned and threw out Petrino's name. (This was before he took the job at Western friggin-Kentucky, of all places). Boy, were we wrong on all counts. I guess KK wanted to be a head coach....like NOW! Admittedly, I am not objective, but I don't think it is a good move. But he didn't ask me.
So now Sumlin has to find someone else to run his sonic boom offense and, perhaps more importantly, guide JFF. Will he find someone who played the position, like Kingsbury? Who is out there?
And speaking of the Heisman, I watched the telecast, which was excrutiating in the extreme until the very nanosecond that JFF's name was announced. Johnny handled it well, I thought, and I was particularly moved by his mention of his deceased teammate and his thanks to the 12th man. Then I watched a video of the reaction of the Aggies watching at the Clayton Williams center and teared up all over again. He deserved to win, and faithful, long-suffering Aggies everywhere may have deserved it as well. Gig 'em.
PS: to BBLjr, Oxey, and Ohfor----I imagine Zippy is drinking a cup of beer in heaven right about now.
Ohfor says: I'd hire Stephen McGee as OC. He was a state record setting spread QB his entire career at Burnet HS running an offense that he largely designed according to his HScoach (teammate Jordan Shipley's father). McGee is very smart, majoring in Honors finance and finishing his MBA at A&M before leaving to play QB for the Cowboys. Young, smart, and an Aggie. He'd be a recruiting machine. They won't hire him. Too out of the box.
ReplyDeleteIs McGee interested in coaching? Sounds good on paper but it seems a pretty big leap to go from unsigned free agent to offensive coordinator. The names I have read are Noel Mazzone from UCLA and David Beaty, current receivers coach at A&M. Neither of those guys does much for me, but I really know very little about them. Dykes took his La Tech O.C. with him to Cal, so he is right out.
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of hiring Mcgee, but as a coach not coordinator. Don't know about the other guys. Sumlin has hired well before, so lets hope he knows what he is doing. It is an attractive position for someone to come into. Lots of firepower. Ultimately losing Kingsbury could be good. You want coaches to want to come to A&M and if we are perceived to be a career launcher, great
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