The Mike Sherman era at Texas A&M is over. The Aggies fired Sherman yesterday after four up and down seasons. He was hired in 2007 after spending the previous ten years in the NFL, including six as head coach of the Green Bay Packers. Prior to jumping to the professional ranks, he also served as the offensive line coach for the Aggies in 1989-1993 and again in 1995-1996. He leaves the school with a 25-25 career record.

The expectations for 2011 were high in College Station after a 9-4 2010 campaign. A preseason top 10 ranking and 18 returning starters had some pundits talking Big 12 championship. Those aspirations were quickly eroded after back-to-back losses to Oklahoma State and Arkansas left them with a 2-2 record.

Second-half collapses, a losing conference record and going 1-5 versus Top 25 opponents sealed Sherman’s fate. Four of their six losses were by a combined ten points, culminating in a 27-25 defeat to archrival Texas on Thanksgiving day, which led to Sherman’s now prophetic summary of the disappointing season.

“I’ve never experienced a season like this and I don’t plan on experiencing a season like it again,” Sherman said after the loss to Texas. “This was a very difficult season to swallow. We have good kids, they work hard, but for whatever reason the ball bounced funny for us sometimes, and we didn’t make the play when we need to make it to win the games we didn’t.”

Unfortunately for Sherman, he won’t be experiencing another season like this one, at least not with the Aggies. Failing to win conference games and beat heated rivals is grounds for dismissal in college football.

The school’s reported top choice to fill the vacancy is former assistant Kevin Sumlin, who is angling for an undefeated season with seventh ranked Houston. Whoever takes the job will face a daunting task as Texas A&M enters the SEC in 2012.

Source: ESPN.com

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