The Wait Is Over...

Due to my expertise and supreme wisdom in the area of Aggie and college football, I know you're JUST DYING to know my thoughts on the new Aggie coach hired yesterday.

And when you've picked yourselves up off the floor and stopped laughing at that statement, feel free to read on.

The moment all you Aggie fans have been waiting for...thoughts on the future of Aggie football, presented to you by THE TEXAS AGGIE IN FLORIDA! (You know, one of these days those idiots on College Gameday at ESPN will call me and invite me to be on the show. They need me. Really, they do!)

So, a week ago, I was CRINGING at the mere thought of A&M hiring Tommy Tubberville from Auburn or Mike Sherman, former Green Bay Packers coach and Offensive Coordinator of the Houston Texans. Mainly because to me, they both seemed too much like Fran. Old school, set in their ways, conservative play calling perhaps, probably close to retirement. I had it in my mind that A&M needed a young, up and coming coach with a FIRE to build a football dynasty.

However, yesterday Dollar Bill, as we like to call him in Aggieland (athletic director Bill Byrne) hired the coach I feared the most, Mike Sherman. But it did not take me long to completely change my viewpoint, and I am now TOTALLY completely head over heels IN LOVE with our new coach and I have nothing but total optimism and anxious excitement about what the future holds in Aggie football.

For starters, Sherman is only 52, not 65 like I was thinking. I guess he just looks older. So he does have a good 10-15 good coaching years left in him, maybe more. I mean look at Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno, coaching in their 70's. That's plenty of time to build a program. Furthermore, I was sincerely touched by his statements in the press conference yesterday. I think he was totally genuine about saying the Texas A&M job is a dream come true for him. I like the idea that he has coached in Aggieland for 7 years in the past, so he's aware of our very unique culture and tradition and fan base. And I defintely heard the fire in his voice that I was looking for in a coach. I like it that he didn't want to make statements about his offense and defense style for A&M without evaluating the personnel on the field. He wants to build a style that works well with our talent and skill base in the beginning. I think that is CRUCIAL for success.

We have THE BEST Athletic Director in the country. He has a knack for finding great coaches and Fran was not his choice. He may have hired him, but he wasn't his choice, I promise. Look at every single Aggie sport where Byrne has made changes. We're championship caliber, top ranked, winning the Big 12 in every single sport except football. And now, that will change too. I promise! Byrne hand picked Sherman and I have total faith in Byrne. He's a genius.

I love the fact that Sherman is SO highly respected among players, coaches, and the media in the coaching profession. I think he will bring instant credibility and positive media attention to A&M football. He has achieved success in the college ranks as well as in the NFL. What recruit wouldn't want to play for a guy who has coached in a Super Bowl? Coached Brett Favre, at that! He has a reputation for building stellar staffs. There are coaches all over the country that respect him so much, they will want to follow him to Aggieland to coach on his staff and he will only hire the best of the best. I'm truly certain of that, without a doubt!

Byrne stated in the press conference that for almost a year, he has been receiving calls from NFL players, coaches, and others who were saying, "If you ever want to make a change in the footballl coach, you'd be crazy to not consider Mike Sherman." And I think Sherman is a man of integrity. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so respected. But he stated yesterday that he is going to work even harder at his current job as the Texans OC because he doesn't ever want anyone to think of him as a lame duck coach.

I am so excited y'all! You have no idea!!! I have this feeling that Mike Sherman is the man that will take us ALL THE WAY! And I've never felt that way about any other coach. I don't care what they are saying on the forum sites and in the papers, we got a good one! He even lowered his own salary to 1.8 mil a year so that they could put more into paying support staff because he wanted to get the best in the business and to do that, you have to pay big bucks. That tells me he's serious about one thing...WINNING!

I'm smiling in my sleep over this one. Mark my words. We will win at least 9-10 games next year and will be Big 12 champs within 3 years. We have enough talent already to win big games. I know some may not believe that, but we do. If you don't believe that after Friday's game, you're crazy. Coach Sherman will utilize our talent in the right way and I guarantee our talent base will increase in the coming years with this guy.

And I leave you with a quote from our new Aggie coach from yesterday's press conference:
Sherman compared Green Bay and Aggieland – two tight-knit communities in love with tradition and pigskin. Sherman said that keeping Aggies happy is about the same as keeping “Cheeseheads” in Green Bay happy – it’s “in your gut” to try and do so because they’re both so passionate about football. "I believe in this university,” he said. “I believe in it from the ‘Hullabaloo Caneck Caneck’ to (Aggie) Muster to Elephant Walk to the Aggie ring. Everything about this university I believe in, and there’s so much beyond football. “Football is a part of it, it’s not ‘it.’ This university is bigger than football, and there are many facets to it that make it so special. My understanding of that will help me be a better coach.”

In Byrne we trust. In Sherman we trust. Rest easy Ags!