BrandoC said:

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If we are talking about ties to College Station/A&M, I would take Larry Fedora over Chad Morris any day of the week.

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Why are ties to College Station/A&M so important? There's nothing remotely championship about either.

Also, another thought while reading this thread...how long will SMU get to lean on the death penalty excuse? There are programs that have started since SMU got the death penalty that have surpassed SMU. Pony Express was a generation ago. GTF over it already.

7aggiefan4life said:

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2thFixinAg said:

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7aggiefan4life said:

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I agree I believe we should keep Sumlin even if he goes 5-7. I will forever blame this past season collapse on injuries and lack of depth and Sumlin can't control that some of our best players got hurt.

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he won't see thanksgiving if he goes 5-7. and if he only gets to 8 wins again he's probably gone also. if you want him to stay better start pulling for 9 wins.

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if we start 3-4 and go on to win the next 5 games plus the bowl game and our offense is rolling he will definitely stay.

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But ... November

There is no debate. Morris is a top 60-80 recruiter at SMU and 7-17.

7-5 is our likely record this coming year. If so, we should hire a coach from a high FCS program,

trm94 said:

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I would take Venables first and foremost. But Morris is wanted for good reasons

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trm94 said:

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I would take Venables first and foremost. But Morris is wanted for good reasons

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There's a reason Vanables is still an assistant.

Because, for some reason, people think that hiring a coach that "gets A&M" is important.

Spoiler alert: It's not.

We will keep our traditions regardless of who we hire. We need someone who gets recruiting and gets how to win on a bigger stage.

Bruce Almighty said:

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trm94 said:

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I would take Venables first and foremost. But Morris is wanted for good reasons

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There's a reason Vanables is still an assistant.

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What is the reason?

Serious question. I have wondered that for a while.

DeepEastTxAg said:

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Because, for some reason, people think that hiring a coach that "gets A&M" is important.

Spoiler alert: It's not.

We will keep our traditions regardless of who we hire. We need someone who gets recruiting and gets how to win on a bigger stage.

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I agree.

But some of our traditions will erode because of who we hire....and I am not talking about football.

With all the football "knowledge" on this board, I'm convinced that most on here would complain even if Bill Belichick was the next coach.

Lateralus Ag said:

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Bruce Almighty said:

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trm94 said:

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I would take Venables first and foremost. But Morris is wanted for good reasons

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There's a reason Vanables is still an assistant.

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What is the reason?

Serious question. I have wondered that for a while.

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Not sure, though he's interviewed for head coaching positions in the past. Something about him must set off red flags that keeps him from getting hired. Sure he's a ******, but so are most coaches.

I hope that when we need to get a football coach be hire someone that is the best that can be hired. If we have to spend a lot, so be it. Our university has plenty of resources for us to go out and buy the best available. There should be one of the top coaches that could be convinced to come if the offer is good enough.

I'm hoping that one of the traditions that will erode away is not winning a championship. That's our longest standing tradition to date.

Aggies should hire a coach from the Saban or Meyer coaching tree that have been taught how to coach and recruit. ala Kirby Smart and Tom Herman.

superunknown said:

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BrandoC said:

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If we are talking about ties to College Station/A&M, I would take Larry Fedora over Chad Morris any day of the week.

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Why are ties to College Station/A&M so important? There's nothing remotely championship about either.

Also, another thought while reading this thread...how long will SMU get to lean on the death penalty excuse? There are programs that have started since SMU got the death penalty that have surpassed SMU. Pony Express was a generation ago. GTF over it already.

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The excuse for SMU being terrible isn't the death penalty, it's that June Jones quit recruiting before he was done there, and Morris has had to completely rebuild and hasn't done a bad job when you consider the reality of the situation when he took over. Not saying it's good enough yet, but the fact he is an Aggie is totally secondary to why he is so well-liked. This has been established on here over and over again.

Mr. Peterman said:

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With all the football "knowledge" on this board, I'm convinced that most on here would complain even if Bill Belichick was the next coach.

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Think we got a shot?

Mr. Peterman said:

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With all the football "knowledge" on this board, I'm convinced that most on here would complain even if Bill Belichick was the next coach.

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Depends.

Who would he bring in as his assistants?

Lateralus Ag said:

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DeepEastTxAg said:

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Because, for some reason, people think that hiring a coach that "gets A&M" is important.

Spoiler alert: It's not.

We will keep our traditions regardless of who we hire. We need someone who gets recruiting and gets how to win on a bigger stage.

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I agree.

But some of our traditions will erode because of who we hire....and I am not talking about football.

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If Chad Morris winds up as coach here, I hope he cares more about winning and recruiting than about who stands where before and after football games and who's wearing a hat or not during the yells and who the yell leaders are, etc.

Feels a lot more people would rather pat themselves on the back for being the lovable loser who gets his head kicked in but by golly gee, we're just so friendly to visitors and what a lovely place to play and aw shucks, we won another halftime again!

cc10106 said:

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superunknown said:

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BrandoC said:

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If we are talking about ties to College Station/A&M, I would take Larry Fedora over Chad Morris any day of the week.

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Why are ties to College Station/A&M so important? There's nothing remotely championship about either.

Also, another thought while reading this thread...how long will SMU get to lean on the death penalty excuse? There are programs that have started since SMU got the death penalty that have surpassed SMU. Pony Express was a generation ago. GTF over it already.

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The excuse for SMU being terrible isn't the death penalty, it's that June Jones quit recruiting before he was done there, and Morris has had to completely rebuild and hasn't done a bad job when you consider the reality of the situation when he took over. Not saying it's good enough yet, but the fact he is an Aggie is totally secondary to why he is so well-liked. This has been established on here over and over again.

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That's not true at all. The truth is SMU has no exceptions that they can recruit. Their administration won't allow any.
As an example, most SEC schools recruit 80% exceptions.

Which traditions are you referring to?

LonnieBob said:

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I'm a coach who has had the chance to get to know Coach Morris and his staff these last couple years so I will throw in my 2 cents.

First off, they are the most hospitable staff in the state, if not the country when it comes to HS coaches. Coach Morris knows that when it comes to building a program, it starts with relationships with the HS coaches across the state. Plus, when I say hospitable, I mean pop in whenever you want as a coach to talk ball. I've sat in the OCs office several times to talk Xs and Os.

Coach Morris isn't just looking for a quick fix. A lot of people point to his first season (2-10) but he played a lot of freshmen knowing that he had to lay the foundation first, even if they took losses (some big) early on. The administration was very supportive of his plan. You could see it starting to pay off last season, falling just short of a bowl game.

Lastly, a lot of people (not everyone on here but a lot) don't know what all goes along with being a head coach, really at any level. Only about 5-10% of it is actual Xs and Os. I don't think many people realize it but there is a lot of excitement starting to be built about SMU football. It has been a long time since it has been that way.

Once again, just my 2 cents.

I hope Coach Sumlin is able to get the job done. As a coach, I'm not going to call for another Coach to get fired. Just wanted to say my part for those bashing on Coach Morris.

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Pretty much everything Ive heard about Morris. His reputation in coaching circles is off the charts. And as I've said for a while, the only people that think Morris wouldn't be a great hire are Aggies.

Can't money whip established coaches anymore. Already gettIng paid a lot.
And they have a known where they are.
They just use interest from other big name schools to get pay raises and extensions where they already are happy.
In today's world, got to find the best new guy and roll the dice a bit.
And right now that's probably Morris.

But as an aside I'd prefer a defense coordinator type. They tend to have the attitude that out current team is lacking.

No I don't have a name.

Doesn't really matter. It's Morris when Sumlin tanks this year.

I have heard this a couple times from people and I think that is awesome that his staff is like that. I think by doing that and being at a program that recruits actually want to go to could be the key to his success. Of course I don't want to see any head coach lose his job and I thank Sumlin for what he has done here I just feel a lot of Aggies, present and past, have just been let down for so many years with us falling short or not living up to expectations even before Sumlin and I just want us to win for once and be a championship program and I want the right guy for the job.

Quote:

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I'm a coach who has had the chance to get to know Coach Morris and his staff these last couple years so I will throw in my 2 cents.

First off, they are the most hospitable staff in the state, if not the country when it comes to HS coaches. Coach Morris knows that when it comes to building a program, it starts with relationships with the HS coaches across the state. Plus, when I say hospitable, I mean pop in whenever you want as a coach to talk ball. I've sat in the OCs office several times to talk Xs and Os.

Coach Morris isn't just looking for a quick fix. A lot of people point to his first season (2-10) but he played a lot of freshmen knowing that he had to lay the foundation first, even if they took losses (some big) early on. The administration was very supportive of his plan. You could see it starting to pay off last season, falling just short of a bowl game.

Lastly, a lot of people (not everyone on here but a lot) don't know what all goes along with being a head coach, really at any level. Only about 5-10% of it is actual Xs and Os. I don't think many people realize it but there is a lot of excitement starting to be built about SMU football. It has been a long time since it has been that way.

Once again, just my 2 cents.

I hope Coach Sumlin is able to get the job done. As a coach, I'm not going to call for another Coach to get fired. Just wanted to say my part for those bashing on Coach Morris.


Pretty much everything Ive heard about Morris. His reputation in coaching circles is off the charts. And as I've said for a while, the only people that think Morris wouldn't be a great hire are Aggies.

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yep

give me a young guy like morris who has a lot to prove - he'd be as hungry as any coach we've ever had. Though nothing is guaranteed, IMHO I think he'd do great things here.

Young? He's only 4 years younger than Kevin Sumlin. He's not Lincoln Riley, Tom Herman or even Justin Fuente.

TheWoodsAg said:

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Young? He's only 4 years younger than Kevin Sumlin. He's not Lincoln Riley, Tom Herman or even Justin Fuente.

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chad is 48. Therman is 42 and will be 52 after next season.

7aggiefan4life said:

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Yes he is an Aggie with good coaching experience but do we really want another coach from a small school with no big time winning experience?

Sorry if this has already been a thread

Edit: This is IF Sumlin gets fired

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If the current coach is not getting it done, try another option. Keep doing this until you get the right guy. I don't want to keep an average SEC coach based on the fear that the next guy might be worse.

Let the season play out. If Sumlin is fired and Morris has a good season at SMU, then I'm on board. I'd much rather see Sumlin win 8-9 games and get another year.

Morris has to get to 9 wins this season to be considered IMO. I know he went into a tough situation at SMU, but the bottom line is A&M is too big a fish to hire a guy who lacks a proven track record as a head coach. Plus he has another negative working against him: he is an offensive guy. The SEC is a defensive league. That is why, if Coach Sumlin gets canned, I would be looking first and foremost at Maryland's new head coach DJ Durkin. This assumes that he has to get to at least 8 wins this season. I like Durkin for the following reasons: 1) he is a defensive guru. 2) He was hired by Harbaugh twice (at Stanford and later at Michigan), he worked for Meyer twice (at Bowling Green and then at Florida), and he was Muschamp's DC at Florida. Yes, the Gators were not very good under Muschamps but that was because their offense was bad. Defensively, they were pretty solid. Second on my list would be Justin Fuentes -- VaTech's DC. Also on the list would be Bob Stoops. Say what you will about him, but he is a very talented coach. Plus, he could probably do wonders here. Look, he was handicapped at OU. Despite all of OU's history, it is located in a state that is not rich in football talent. That is why half the Sooners' team came from Texas. The Texas to OU pipeline has developed issues in recent years, however, with A&M's move to the SEC and with the rise of Big 12 teams like Baylor and TCU, The reason is the in-state programs have facilities that equal or exceed OU's and many players prefer to play in front of family and friends rather than out of state. With A&M's location as the SEC's sole Texas outpost, and given A&M's phenomenal resources, I could see Big Game Bob coming here and doing well here. Using a program like A&M as a platform, I have little doubt that he could recruit at a level equal to or exceeding LSU's level of recruiting. The potential is here. The sky is the limit at A&M, and in the hands of the right person the football program has the potential to kick some serious butt on the gridiron.

That's just it, SMU is set up to win this year. I know a lot of people might scoff at it but they have a chance to win the AAC this year. That would be amazing considering where the program was at 2 years ago.

They will definitely be in a bowl game.

They will be good on offense but what they will make the biggest jump is on defense. Van Malone has steadily put pieces in place on the defensive side.

Bruce Almighty said:

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trm94 said:

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I would take Venables first and foremost. But Morris is wanted for good reasons

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There's a reason Vanables is still an assistant.

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Venables was also one of the biggest negative recruiters against us while he was at ou. He can EAD.

Mr. Peterman said:

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With all the football "knowledge" on this board, I'm convinced that most on here would complain even if Bill Belichick was the next coach.

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That's because he'd only recruit 3-star players. And everyone knows you can't win in the SEC without 4 and 5 star players.

HSFootballAg24 said:

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The negatives out-weigh the positives.

I'd rather keep Coach Sumlin.

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You're 15.

Incredible run at Lake Travis. Knows texas recruiting like the back of his hand.
Top offensive coordinator in nation at Clemson.
Top offensive recruiter in nation at Clemson.
Building a solid foundation at SMU.

Follow him on twitter. Read local articles about him. Get to know him. He is hard nosed. He is disciplined. He can recruit and he can build/rebuild a program. He is accomplished and he has learned from some of the best.

He will be taken by the end of this season by one of the top brands in football. We either go hard for him or we let some other top program steal him away. He already turned down Baylor because he is building his resume for this moment.

He is our Herman. We can have him if we want him. We would be fools to let him pass us by.

WestAustinAg, you have an awful lot of faith in a guy who has never proven himself as a head coach for a Division I college football program. And remember, being a successful college football coach involves a different skill set than being a successful college football offensive coordinator. That's all I have to say.

The most overrated aspect of head coaching is this idea of former ties to Texas high schools.
The greatest recruiters in the history of the state of Texas post Royal were Jackie, Mack Brown, Switzer and Stoops none which had these ties.
Who had ties - Briles, every high school coach that knew him hated him. It didn't seem to bother his recruiting.
Spike Dykes-okay is that what we want a good old well liked guy.
We are trying to recruit the stars. Their high school coach has little to no impact on where these guys go. Maybe with the 2-3 star guy, maybe.
Being a former Texas high school coach doesn't hurt you but it doesn't really help with the top guys either.