Thoughts on Texas A&M quarterback Kyle Allen's decision to transfer

On Thursday Texas A&M announced sophomore starting quarterback Kyle Allen will transfer.

This is something that came across my desk earlier this afternoon and I've spent a couple of hours thinking about the ramifications of the former five-star quarterback and Aggie starter leaving A&M after two seasons. 

Out of respect for Kyle, I didn't break the news because he needed to be prepared for the onslaught that was going to come when Sumlin and A&M eventually put out the official, carefully worded and clean and sanitary press release.

Here's the bottom line truth: the Aggies lost a quarterback today that we'll probably see slinging passes in the National Football League in two or three years. More importantly, they lost a guy who probably would have stayed on campus had there been any degree of certainty regarding the direction of the A&M offense or the status of his position coach, an assistant who spent two years recruiting him and also happens to remain on board as the offensive coordinator.

This doesn't have to do with Kyler Murray or the fact that Allen was caught in the middle of a back-and-forth battle between two very talented and very decorated young quarterbacks. In my opinion, it has everything to do with instability on that side of the ball and Allen doing what he believed was best for his future.

Look, we all assumed that the very real possibility existed that either Allen or Murray would transfer following this season. Even if Allen reclaiming the starting job led to a flicker of hope that Kyle would stay on board and Murray would see how baseball went this spring before re-evaluating where he stood in the pecking order, the reality was that one of the two were likely to leave.

The guy walking out the door, as it turns out, just so happens to be the most proven and experienced signal-caller on the Aggie roster and, truth be told, the one who was most likely to nab the starting job in 2016 with Murray spending the spring on the diamond for Rob Childress' potential College World Series squad.

There's no way to spin nor sugarcoat the Ags losing Allen, folks, and quite frankly, I have neither the desire nor inclination to do so.  

The fact is, the situation at quarterback has been handled poorly from the start and came to a head this afternoon. If Kevin Sumlin doesn't rectify whatever is going on with the Aggie offense and do so quickly, things are going to get much worse before they get better.

What do I mean? I know for a fact that rival coaches are having an absolute field day on the recruiting front when meeting with and talking to A&M commits and priority targets, pointing to a lack of production in 2015 and the ensuing uncertainty and dysfunction.

There's also the "little" things like where Murray's head is at in all of this (I've heard from more than one college coach in this state that Murray, in fact, is also strongly considering a transfer), the fact that a guy like SEC Freshman of the Year Christian Kirk just so happens to be Allen's best friend and the Ags' ongoing recruiting efforts in regard to the Class of 2016. 

As of today, the Aggies desperately need to add a quarterback to this year's class and it appears they will begin that search about ten months too late with a position coach/OC whose status moving forward is very much up in the air.

Sometimes, the truth hurts. And the truth today is that the A&M offense has taken steps backward every year since Sumlin's first in College Station in 2012. In four years in Aggieland, the A&M offense has been led by three different OCs and that number could grow to four in five years prior to next season.

It was Sumlin who created what appears to be a mix on his offensive staff that, at best, doesn't mesh well in terms of scheme and philosophy or, at worst, lacks any degree of real chemistry and cohesion. After all, we're talking about a unit that had not one, not two, but three OCs in the room this past season. In my humble opinion, Allen recognized as much and decided to pursue his football dreams elsewhere.

So, here we sit today. There's one man who can fix things.

He did it a year ago on the defensive side of the ball and things look as promising for the Wrecking Crew today under John Chavis as they did at any point since R.C. Slocum was patrolling the Kyle Field sidelines. I know you guys want me to be the one with all of the answers but, quite frankly, I don't know the best course of action for the head coach.

As you know, my job is to get you the information. Sumlin gets paid the big bucks to serve as the top-of-the-chain problem-solver for Texas A&M Football. I can opine all I want, but what I don't know is whether the answer is making a change at the top (offensive coordinator) or shaking things up elsewhere on that side of the ball. That's for the head man to decide, even it's an unpopular choice.

What I do know, however, is that this thing has drug out too long and is clearly having a negative effect on the current Aggie players and program momentum — in the locker room and in the recruiting arena — in general.

The first order of business for Sumlin is stepping back and taking an honest look at where the system is flawed and getting to the absolute root of the problem. I can only assume that the head coach has been doing this for at least two weeks, if not much longer than that. And while I'll be the first to offer the man the benefit of the doubt, anything short of him having whatever replacements he has in place and ready to step into the breach when they are freed up to do so is beyond the realm of acceptable.

Even then, you'd think there would be some type of move made, some sort of press release or a pre-bowl press conference designed to put out the fire of uncertainty that is dangerously close to burning out of control.  

This isn't Sumlin taking his time to find the absolute best fit at defensive coordinator even if it meant losing Malik Jefferson to Texas — which, in all fairness, worked out brilliantly.

A year ago, he removed Mark Snyder shortly after the season finale and got the search underway. In this instance, the lack of any news or movement has led to a cloud hanging over the program during a crucial time in the recruiting cycle and probably played a role in Allen's ultimate decision.

There are a lot of players and assistants twisting in the wind right now and there are a lot of recruits who read the message boards and are much more social media-savvy than you and I, waiting to see which direction the Aggie head coach goes with an offense that ranked among the nation's most feared and explosive units as recently as two years ago.

Don't get it twisted — it's not Kevin Sumlin's job to tell me, you or even the biggest-money donor out there what he plans to do. He's paid $5M a year to make the final call on what's best for Aggie Football.

Last year, that meant keeping everyone in the dark before ripping John Chavis away from LSU. Pardon me for saying so, but things just don't seem nearly as clearly-orchestrated this time around.  

Here's hoping Sumlin already knows the answer to the question everyone, including his former starting quarterback, is asking.

Overly dramatic? I don't think so at all.

Raise your hand if you wear an Aggie Ring and aren't concerned.