Ahh... the predictable mentality from the fan of a "blueblood" school. A&M and schools of their ilk should just sit back and enjoy winning seasons and not bother to aspire to anything better. Just be happy where you're at. *** yawn ***
Sumlin's offense has dropped off in recent years due to questionable hires at the OC position.... He struggled to put together a consistent running game... the OL has clearly dropped off after Sherman's kids graduated. He's struggled to finish out seasons with strong starts. He's finished above .500 in SEC west play only once... has barely a winning record in the SEC overall... and has a LOSING SEC RECORD AT HOME. Nevermind his stunngingly bad decision making at the end of games at times (see UCLA).
I would presume just a couple of these bullet points would be enough to ouster a coach at an OU or Ohio State or somesuch.
While I personally wasn't 100% convinced we should fire him at this point... The justification is clearly there for those that were.
I don't know if you were responding to me or Fred, Shiner, but I'll plead semi-guilty as charged.
Only semi-, though, because I'm not saying that A&M fans should just sit back and like it if the Aggies can just go 7-5 and get to a bowl. What I'm trying to say is that it is very difficult for a peasant to become a duke, or a duke to become a baron, or a baron to become a king.
HH/CH posted elsewhere about the "9 schools" that seem to be in the top 9 in many categories. It's extremely difficult for other schools to break the glass ceiling (or whatever) and join those 9.
I'll go further. It's hard for any school to rise significantly above its historical norm. It happens sometimes, with a just-right coach. Mike Leach lifted Texas Tech above its historical norm. But Leach is long gone, and the heady days of Mike Leach's success in Lubbock are gone with him. Texas Tech is back to its historical norm.
Same process has been seen in action at K-State. Bill Snyder lifted them w-a-a-a-y above their historical norm, then retired. And down they sank. He came back, and they rose, although not to the levels he had previously taken them. I assume that when he retires for good, they will sink again.
Greg Schiano lifted lowly Rutgers high enough to get into the Big Ten. Now Rutgers is where it was before his time there.
Same process may be at work at Baylor.
Good luck on your coach search. May you find one who will take your program upward rather than tread water or sink.