Jimbo Fisher's Texas A&M tenure beginning to mirror Kevin Sumlin's

Texas A&M fired coach Kevin Sumlin in 2017 after six winning seasons, declaring that eight-win seasons weren't the standard for the program. Barring a surprise turnaround, eight wins might be generous for the Aggies under Jimbo Fisher this season. 

Sumlin set the standard high in year one at Texas A&M, winning 11 games with Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel. Manziel helped lead the Aggies to nine wins in 2013, but the program's progress stalled after he left. Sumlin went 8-5, 8-5, 8-5, and 7-6 in his last four seasons, respectively. 

So far, Fisher's record at Texas A&M (37-16) exceeds Sumlin's (51-26), but the program is starting to trend in the same direction as it did under Sumlin. 

After a one-loss season in 2020, the Aggies finished an underwhelming 8-4 in 2021, including some mystifying losses around a shocking win over No. 1 Alabama. This season, an Aggies team that entered the year ranked No. 6 in the AP Poll is 3-2 and staring down an uphill battle against Alabama. 

Inconsistency has been at the heart of Texas A&M's struggles. Despite picking up big wins over Arkansas and Miami, the Aggies have losses to Appalachian State and Mississippi State. 

Recruiting is where Fisher has won. 247Sports rated Texas A&M's 2022 recruiting class as the best in the nation, and that alone could buy Fisher some more time. 

Fisher's tenure might indicate Sumlin did the best he could with the talent he had at Texas A&M. Since his firing, though, Sumlin struggled to a 9-20 record at Arizona and ended his three-year stint with a 70-7 loss to rival Arizona State. 

Sumlin is now the head coach and general manager of the USFL's Houston Gamblers, making much less money than Fisher's $9 million salary at Texas A&M this year.