When I heard we were in talks with Mark Richt about our head coaching job, my first reaction was one of disbelief that we would even consider him for the position. I know he has a very stellar record at Georgia, but he is also one step ahead of the posse there. If you go back to the second week of the 2011 season, A&M was ranked in the top 10 and looking good, Georgia was 0-2 coming off a 6-7 season in 2010, and Richt was about to be fired. Then the rest of the season happened, Georgia surged while A&M slumped, and Georgia won the SEC East division, so their fans are happy with Richt right now. I am a firm believer that you want to hire a coach the fans at his current school want to keep, and I get the impression (rightly or wrongly) Georgia fans would be okay with letting Richt go if it meant they could replace him with Kirby Smart. For this reason, I didn't understand why we would want Richt. After I got over my first reaction, I wondered why Richt would have a wandering eye. He has won SEC Conference championships at Georgia in 2002 and 2005, and won over 100 games in his 11 seasons as head coach in Athens. Despite their struggles recently, the division title and trip to the SEC Championship Game this year put Richt on solid footing. Georgia has a solid football tradition, and a rabid fanbase. Why leave all that to make a lateral move to another conference team in the other division?

I started to consider the appeal of the Texas A&M job. Beyond our resources and tradition, this job offers someone a terrific opportunity. You're entering a program going into the best football conference in the world, and you're expected to struggle your first year, so expectations are low. You're joining a team that will have 16 starters returning, so you will have the talent in place to exceed those low expectations your first season. If you win your conference division, you have a very good opportunity at playing for the national championship. This year has shown you don't even need to win your division to do that. You're joining a school that will be able to sell being the only Texas university in the SEC to recruits. You are joining a school that officially now has no arch rival, so there is no you-must-win-this-game-or-you-will-be-fired pressure. This would appeal to someone like Richt, who has struggled mightily with beating Florida. And finally, you're stepping right into a hotbed of talent that is unparalleled in the rest of the nation, so you have the means, the conference alignment, and the talent base to start out strong in your first season, build a championship program, and maintain it. You will also be compensated very, very well for taking on this opportunity, so there is that as well. A&M is easily one of the top 5 jobs in the nation every year because of our program advantages, but the situation we offer right now makes us the most attractive job in the country. This is why an opportunity like this is causing many people to take a look at us. I don't think we're going to hire Mark Richt, but I can understand why he would give us a look.

Randy Bullock became the first Aggie to win the Lou Groza Award, given annually to the nation's top collegiate kicker, tonight at the College Football Awards show at Disney World. Bullock was 25-29 on field goal attempts this season, and led the Aggies in scoring this season with 127 points, one point shy of the all-time school record of 128 points set by Joel Hunt in 1927. Bullock was also named to the Walter Camp All-American team, making it the second All-American team he has been named to this season.

Bullock has 349 career points, which is a school record, and is currently on a record pace for accuracy, at 77.3 percent for his career. I can remember being nervous when Bullock was a freshman, and we were going to try any kick over 40 yards, and he has come a long way since then, booming 50 yard field goals the last two years, and making a 52 yarder against texas two weeks ago. He has gone from being a question mark who made you cross your fingers when he walked onto the field to being reliable points every time he went onto the field. Bullock's honor makes it the second season in a row an Aggie has been recognized as the best in the nation at their position, following Von Miller being awarded the Butkus Award last season.

Good job, Randy, and Gig'em!!!

• The Big 12 announced the coaches choices for all-conference awards yesterday, and they were pretty much a joke. Despite the fact that we gave up the fewest sacks in the conference, and finished the year second in the conference in rushing offense, we didn't have a single offensive lineman make the first team. Despite the fact that we led the conference in sacks and finished second in run defense, we didn't have a single defensive player make first team defense. Kicker Randy Bullock has made more field goals than any other kicker in the nation this season, was named an All-American by the American Football Coaches Association, but he isn't good enough to make first-team All-Big 12. Dustin Harris led the conference in punt return average, and was the only player among the leaders to have a return for a TD, but he didn't make first or second team. In Sean Porter and Damontre Moore, we had the #1 (tied) and #2 sack leaders in the Big 12, but neither of them made first or second team. This list was a final eff you from the other Big 12 coaches. Ryan Swope, Cyrus Gray, Luke Joeckel, Randy Bullock, and Tony Jerod-Eddie all made second team.
• The hot topic in the A&M coaching hire saga last night was rumors that we were possibly talking to Boise State head coach Chris Petersen. The sticking point seemed to be salary, where his demand is rumored to be $4 million annually. I don't think a coach who has yet to win a national title (or coach in a BCS conference) is worth that type of a salary. I want a coach who wants to come to A&M and win national championships, not someone we have to overpay to come here. Coming to A&M would be Petersen's chance to come and play in a big boy conference and be guaranteed a shot at the national title if went undefeated, so this should be a challenge he would embrace. This would be a chance for Petersen to prove himself against the best in the business once and for all, so I would think it would enticing enough for him to take the next step. Of course, these are all rumors, though.
• I was happy with our 64-37 win over Sam Houston State last night. We're still not anywhere close to where we need to be, but I won't complain too much when we hold the opposition to 25% shooting from the floor for a game. I was also happy to see us get 8 blocks in the game, and Keith Davis had himself a night, blocking 5 shots by himself. Defense in the paint is always a good thing, Ray Turner posted his first career double-double, getting 15 points and 10 rebounds. We more than doubled SHSU's scoring in the paint, outscoring them 34-16 inside. That is the type of positive ratio you want on point in the paint.
• I hope we have our coaching search wrapped up today, and have an announcement no later than tomorrow. We need to get moving on recruiting, and start our transition to the SEC.

As we transition to the SEC, one of the big adjustments we will have to make will be in the style of defense we will run when facing SEC offenses. The SEC is a more ground oriented league when it comes to offense, so the focus of their defenses is stopping the run. The SEC currently has two teams that rn the 3-4 defense like A&M in Georgia and Alabama. Texas A&M finished the 2011 regular season ranked #13 in the nation in rush defense, giving up 106 yards per game. Both Alabama and Georgia finished in the top 10 in rush defense, with Alabama ending the regular season #1 in the nation against the run (74.92 ypg) and Georgia finishing at #9 (103.38 ypg). Because it is a base 50 front and because it matches an odd front against five offensive linemen, the 3-4 is ideal for stopping the run, and all of these teams have experienced success in that area. The difference when looking at these defenses, however, is how they are built to stop the opposing offenses they see every week.

Georgia's defensive front is 6'3 351 lbs (NG John Jenkins), 6'3 294 lbs (LDE Garrison Smith), and 6'3 309 lbs (RDE Abry Smith) across the line. Alabama's defensive front is 6'1 310 lbs (NG Josh Chapman), 6'3 285 lbs (WDE Damion Square), and 6'4 319 lbs (SDE Jesse Williams) down the line. A&M's defensive line was 6'0 310 lbs (NG Eddie Brown), 6'5 301 lbs (SDE Tony Jerod-Eddie), and 6'5 277 lbs (WDE Spencer Nealy) across the front. Whereas Georgia has a man-mountain in the mdidle in Jenkins to plug the A-gap, both 'Bama and A&M have chosen to go with slightly smaller, more athletic players. All three teams have a 300 pounder at the strongside defensive end position, but both A&M and Alabama go a little smaller at the weak defensive end position. With Garrison Smith at WDE, Georgia is basically running a front with three nose guards, which can be effective early in the game, but will wear down late (see SEC Championship Game). Assuming the Aggies stick with the 3-4 defense next season, we will be replacing both Jerod-Eddie and Brown inside. Jonathan Mathis returns, and he is flexible enough to play both NG and SDE. If we are able to get the 6'4 345 lb Logan David in, we will have a player to plug the middle at NG, and Ben Compton returns to provide depth. With David, we have the NG and SDE positions set. We also return Kirby Ennis (6'4 286) and RS freshman Shayvion Hatten (6'4 286), so if we decide to go big on the weakside, we have the players to provide size and depth there. Ivan Robinson and Gavin Stansbury are also returning, so we have plenty of size and depth on the DL if we go the Alabama route, but we need to bring in larger guys if we decide to be like Georgia. We're bringing in four DEs in our recruiting class, but none of them have the size to contribute immediately on the field, and I expect we'll redshirt at least three of them.

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Per Billy Liucci, we have interviewed Houston's Kevin Sumlin, Southern Mississippi head coach Larry Fedora, Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, and Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun. Bill Byrne is conducting these interviews, a fact I am ambivalent about. On the one hand, I don't think Byrne will still be our athletic director at this time next year, because I don't think he wants to go to the SEC. On the other hand, the only other choice is having this process spearheaded by boosters, which means we might as well have people on The Zoo doing the interviews. Either way, the interviews need to be done, but I'm not sure who is ultimately going to be accountable for this hiring.

How does everyone feel about Troy Calhoun? He has had a winning season all five years he has been at Air Force, turning a 4-8 team 2006 into a 9-4 team in his first season in 2007. Seasons of 8-5, 8-5, and 9-4 have followed, with the Falcons going 7-5 this season. This years makes the fifth consecutive year in a row the Falcons will go to a bowl game. Calhoun runs a true spread option offense, so we'll be able to take advantage of all of the wide receiver talent we have, and also feature our running backs in an option ground game. Calhoun actually turned down a chance to coach in the SEC before, turning down the Tennessee job back in 2010. Air Force runs a 3-4 defense, and Calhoun was responsible for bringing Tim DeRuyter, our current defensive coordinator and interim head coach, to Colorado Springs in 2007. If we hire Calhoun, I would think there is a decent chance DeRuyter may stay at A&M as defensive coordinator, unless he is offered the Air Force head coaching position. We would be looking at a coach who runs a wide open offense that is able to feature the running game and a 3-4 defense as we begin play in the SEC. This sounds like the best of both worlds to me, because we get the power running game and ability to control the clock with the option attack, and the ability to attack the defense with the passing game with the spread, while also staying with our 3-4 defensive scheme. Is Calhoun a splashy enough hire? Is he a big enough name to make people happy?

Texas A&M President Bowen Loftin and his administration already made a "100 year decision" when they decided to have A&M switch athletic conferences, and move from the Big 12 to the Southeastern Conference. Since we have made a decision to change the leadership in our football program following our last season of Big 12 play, we now embark on an incredibly important decision that will affect our future in our new conference, and can affect the view of our program for years to come.

We have made a statement that merely winning half the games you play is not enough. We've declared that .500 football isn't good enough. As someone who applauds having high standards and working to achieve them, I am in favor of this stance. However, if we are going to fire a Mike Sherman, someone who came in and improved our program tremendously from where it was when he arrived, we better be damn sure our next hire is a splash, a name that all who automatically see it know it is an improvement over Coach Sherman. We don't want to be in the same position we're in right now in another four years.

I have stated on here before my expectations/requirements for our new head coach. I want someone who will run a wide-open offense that will take advantage of the tremendous offensive talent we already have on campus, and I want someone who will run a 3-4 defense, because we already have the talent to run that scheme on campus. I also want someone who has head coaching experience at the college level. Going into the SEC next season, we're going to have enough eyes on us; we need to make sure we make the right hire here, and hit the ground running in our new conference.

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Today is the day the wailing and gnashing of teeth will begin, as we'll see that the LSU-Alabama rematch is slated for the BCS Championship Game. Those who have waited for years for a traveshamockery to hit the BCS will get their wish today. I think the only people who will be celebrating today will be Alabama fans, who are the only ones who want to see a rematch with LSU. I suspect even the Tiger fans want to play someone new and different.

I'm hopeful we'll find out which bowl we'll be going to in the next few days, also. I'm still hoping for the Pinstripe Bowl in New York, but think there is still a chance we'll end up going to Houston for the Texas Bowl to play Iowa. We'll have to see how it all shakes out.

This is your selection Sunday open thread. The BCS selection show starts at 7:15 PM on ESPN tonight.

UH is losing to Southern Miss in the 4th quarter right now. Iowa State is up 13-10 on Kansas State in the second quarter of Farmageddon. Baylor-texas will be on in 15 minutes, or whenever television switches over to them. Oklahoma State-Oklahoma will be on tonight. SEC championship game between LSU and Georgia will be on at 3 PM. The inaugural B1G championship game between Michigan State and Wisconsin will be on FOX at 7:17 tonight. There is a lot of football to watch today, and we will have a coaching search going on, so there is plenty to talk about.

This is your Saturday open thread.

There has never been a time during Coach Sherman's tenure at A&M that I was embarrassed or ashamed to say he was the head coach of my favorite football program, and after watching the class and dignity with which he conducted himself yesterday, there never will be a time when I will be sorry to say he was A&M's coach.

Coach Sherman obviously loves Texas A&M, and believes it is a special place. He loves his players and this team, and loves teaching them to become men through the game of football. His record on the field wouldn't allow him to continue to lead this football program, but his record off the field made me proud to have him at A&M. If anyone wants to know why it is an advantage to have a coach who "gets" A&M, go ahead and watch the above video again.

Everything I am hearing today is that Kevin Sumlin is our main target in the search to replace Mike Sherman as head football coach. Since Houston is playing in the Conference USA conference championship game tomorrow, I would expect an announcement of his hiring sometime soon, possibly as early as Sunday. Coach Sumlin coached at A&M during the 2002 season, moving from WR coach to offensive coordinator halfway through the season, so he has ties to A&M. Coach Sumlin is originally from Indiana, playing and later coaching at Purdue, so he is technically an outsider who happens to have ties to A&M. He cut his teeth as a coach in the B1G, coaching at Purdue and Minnesota, as well as spending some time as an assistant at Washington State and Wyoming. He favors a wide-open passing attack, and he brought the spread to A&M during his short tenure in 2002. His offensive approach has morphed into more vertical version of the Air Raid spread which he has run with great success at University of Houston, leading them to a 12-0 record so far this season, and to the C-USA conference championship game tomorrow against Southern Mississippi.

With quarterbacks Jameill Showers, Luke Joeckel, Johnny Manziel all returning, and Matt Davis coming in with the 2012 recruiting class, we have the quarterbacks to run this offense. With Uzoma Nwachukwu, Ryan Swope, Malcome Kennedy, Kenric McNeal, Brandal Jackson, and Nate Askew all returning, we definitely have the wide receivers to run this offense. Houston's offense features two backs rushing for over 500 yards this season so far, and we know we have the backs returning to move the ball on the ground. Power backs like Marion Grice, Ben Malena, and Christine Michael are going to love the creases this offense creates for them to run through. With our whole offensive line coming back, we have all the pieces in place for Sumlin to come in and have his offense hit the ground running.

I have already written about the importance of keeping the 3-4 defensive scheme as we move into the SEC, and the hiring of Sumlin would indicate that, as he is running the 3-4 right now at UH. UH isn't a defensive powerhouse, but they did improve from #103 in total defense last season to #60 right now, which is currently six spots above where A&M sits in the rankings. Given the recruiting limitations they operate under at UH, that is fairly solid.

Sumlin would bring his high-flying vertical version of the Air Raid to A&M, and keep an attacking 3-4 defensive scheme, so we would get the best of both worlds on offense and defense, and enter the SEC with some excitement and plenty to look forward to.