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Alabama Football: 3 realistic candidates to replace Steve Sarkisian as OC

By Michael Hanich

Nov 7, 2020; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas head coach Tom Herman leads his team during warmups before the game against West Virginia at Royal-Memorial Stadium on Saturday November 7, 2020. Mandatory Credit: Jay Janner-USA TODAY NETWORK
Nov 7, 2020; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas head coach Tom Herman leads his team during warmups before the game against West Virginia at Royal-Memorial Stadium on Saturday November 7, 2020. Mandatory Credit: Jay Janner-USA TODAY NETWORK /
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Arizona football
Kevin Sumlin, Arizona football (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

3. Kevin Sumlin

One name that is reasonable and highly likely to be hired as the offensive coordinator is former Texas A&M and Arizona head coach Kevin Sumlin. Before becoming the head coach of the Houston Cougars in 2008, Sumlin was the co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach at Oklahoma for two seasons (2006-07). He has been one of the main orchestrators of the Sooners’ high-powered offense.

In his second season at Oklahoma in 2007, the Sooners were ranked fifth in the nation in points (42.3) and 19th in total yards per game (448.9). He worked with Sam Bradford and DeMarco Murray in their freshman seasons in 2007 as well as running back Adrian Peterson in his last season.

Sumlin had his first head coaching gig with Houston from 2008-2011. Three of those four seasons, the Cougars were ranked in the top 10 in scoring and total offense. In his last season at Houston, they had the top-ranked scoring offense (49.3 points per game) and top-ranked total offense (599.1 total yards per game). All four seasons, Sumlin had Case Keenum leading the offense.

In his first season as the head coach of Texas A&M in 2012, the Aggies were ranked fourth in points per game (44.5) and 14th in total yards per game (558.5). This was the in which they had true freshman Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel playing his best football. Due to a continual decline, Sumlin was let go after six seasons.

After Texas A&M, Sumlin was hired as the head coach of the Arizona Wildcats where he could not recreate the high-powered offenses at his three previous schools. The Wildcats went 9-20 (6-17 in Pac-12 play) as they were unable to find consistency on either side of the ball.

Sumlin needs a new outlook and go back to his expertise in leading an offense instead of an entire team. He is a player-friendly coach as he can get the most out of his players. This would be a tremendous attribute to acquire off-the-field as well as his ability to develop high-caliber offenses.

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