By Rick Gosselin / The Dallas Morning News
Wednesday, August 31, 2011 -
Wednesday, August 31, 2011 -
Bear Bryant should be a source of inspiration to Texas A&M as the Aggies prepare for a future in the SEC.
Bryant proved that quality coaching can succeed in any conference. He won big at Texas A&M in the Southwest Conference, then won bigger at Alabama in the SEC.
That’s a reason to be bullish on Texas A&M this fall in the Big 12 and in future seasons when the Aggies step up in competition in the SEC. Texas A&M has a quality coach in Mike Sherman who can take the Aggies where they want to go.
The proof is in his game tapes. As the football adage goes, the film doesn’t lie.
In 2002, Sherman’s Green Bay Packers traveled to New England to play the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots [team stats]. Tom Brady [stats] was the trigger of the AFC’s best passing attack, averaging more than 300 yards per game. The Packers limped into Foxborough that day minus three defensive-backfield starters because of injury.
Green Bay was forced to line up a secondary with one player signed off the streets that week, another promoted from the practice squad and another making just his eighth career start.
So Sherman crafted a game plan that called for pass-happy Brett Favre to spend the afternoon handing the ball off, controlling the clock and protecting an overmatched pass defense. The Packers won in a shocker, 28-10.
In 2000, when Minnesota captured the NFC Central in Sherman’s first season as an NFL head coach, his Packers swept the two-game season series from the Vikings. In 2001, when Chicago won the NFC Central, the Packers swept the Bears that season as well.
Clearly Sherman has the know how to beat football’s best teams – and he’ll see plenty of "best" teams in the SEC in Alabama, Auburn, Florida and LSU.
In all, Sherman spent six years as a head coach in the NFL. He strung together five consecutive winning seasons from 2000-04 before faltering at 4-12 in 2005. That one losing season cost him his job. He left the Packers with a winning percentage of 59.4 – better than that of Bill Parcells, Mike Holmgren and Mike Shanahan.
Sherman also enjoyed better coaching success at the game’s highest level than did SEC icons Nick Saban and Steve Spurrier. Both spent two failed seasons in the NFL before sprinting back to college campuses. Also, Bobby Petrino didn’t last a single season in the NFL before bolting for Arkansas.
Sherman won three consecutive NFC North titles in Green Bay and fielded four playoff teams in his first five seasons. The man can coach. Now Green Bay’s loss is A&M’s gain.
Sherman overcame a credibility-rocking home setback to Arkansas State in his A&M debut in 2008 plus two losing seasons at the outset of his tenure with the Aggies. Then he gave A&M a glimpse of its future in 2010 when the Aggies rolled over Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Nebraska on the way to a 9-4 finish.
Sherman now has four recruiting seasons in the books to stock the A&M roster with his players of choice. Coaching and talent equals expectation – and the Aggies are oozing with all three this fall. Texas A&M has been pegged as one of the 10 best teams – No. 8 in The Associated Press poll – in the nation in the preseason polls.
Sherman’s presence should translate into achievement. That will give the Aggies a chance in the SEC.
___
Bryant proved that quality coaching can succeed in any conference. He won big at Texas A&M in the Southwest Conference, then won bigger at Alabama in the SEC.
That’s a reason to be bullish on Texas A&M this fall in the Big 12 and in future seasons when the Aggies step up in competition in the SEC. Texas A&M has a quality coach in Mike Sherman who can take the Aggies where they want to go.
In 2002, Sherman’s Green Bay Packers traveled to New England to play the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots [team stats]. Tom Brady [stats] was the trigger of the AFC’s best passing attack, averaging more than 300 yards per game. The Packers limped into Foxborough that day minus three defensive-backfield starters because of injury.
Green Bay was forced to line up a secondary with one player signed off the streets that week, another promoted from the practice squad and another making just his eighth career start.
So Sherman crafted a game plan that called for pass-happy Brett Favre to spend the afternoon handing the ball off, controlling the clock and protecting an overmatched pass defense. The Packers won in a shocker, 28-10.
In 2000, when Minnesota captured the NFC Central in Sherman’s first season as an NFL head coach, his Packers swept the two-game season series from the Vikings. In 2001, when Chicago won the NFC Central, the Packers swept the Bears that season as well.
Clearly Sherman has the know how to beat football’s best teams – and he’ll see plenty of "best" teams in the SEC in Alabama, Auburn, Florida and LSU.
In all, Sherman spent six years as a head coach in the NFL. He strung together five consecutive winning seasons from 2000-04 before faltering at 4-12 in 2005. That one losing season cost him his job. He left the Packers with a winning percentage of 59.4 – better than that of Bill Parcells, Mike Holmgren and Mike Shanahan.
Sherman also enjoyed better coaching success at the game’s highest level than did SEC icons Nick Saban and Steve Spurrier. Both spent two failed seasons in the NFL before sprinting back to college campuses. Also, Bobby Petrino didn’t last a single season in the NFL before bolting for Arkansas.
Sherman won three consecutive NFC North titles in Green Bay and fielded four playoff teams in his first five seasons. The man can coach. Now Green Bay’s loss is A&M’s gain.
Sherman overcame a credibility-rocking home setback to Arkansas State in his A&M debut in 2008 plus two losing seasons at the outset of his tenure with the Aggies. Then he gave A&M a glimpse of its future in 2010 when the Aggies rolled over Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Nebraska on the way to a 9-4 finish.
Sherman now has four recruiting seasons in the books to stock the A&M roster with his players of choice. Coaching and talent equals expectation – and the Aggies are oozing with all three this fall. Texas A&M has been pegged as one of the 10 best teams – No. 8 in The Associated Press poll – in the nation in the preseason polls.
Sherman’s presence should translate into achievement. That will give the Aggies a chance in the SEC.
___
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