Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin finds himself in a must-win situation this year. It’s almost like his job depends on it.
Sumlin is entering his sixth season as the Aggies head coach and he’s never felt the heat more than this season. The expectations are high at College Station and Texas A&M is expected to be up there with the likes of Alabama and LSU in the SEC.
However, the Aggies have yet to take the next step, pass Alabama and LSU on the food chain, and enter the national title picture. Texas A&M has finished 8-5 in three consecutive seasons and coming off a loss to Kansas State at the Texas Bowl.
Sumlin isn’t shying away from questions about his future.
“There's nobody who puts more pressure on me than Kevin Sumlin,” he said during SEC Media Day on Wednesday. “We all want the same thing. I'm here to do a job and to win a championship, and we haven't done that yet.”
That doesn’t ease the pressure. Aggies athletic director Scott Woodward has said Sumlin “knows he has to win, and he has to win this year.”
Sumlin signed a six-year contract extension valued at $30 million with in 2013, so there’s still three years left on the deal. The buyout would be $10 million following this season.
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“We won more games than anybody in the last 20 years [at Texas A&M],” added Sumlin. “Are we better at Texas A&M than when we got there? You bet. Is it where we want to be? No. Nobody wants to win more than me."
Texas A&M opens up the season at UCLA on September 3.
