Who does less with more: Jones or Sumlin?

True... I admit I don't fully understand the extent of what Jones did inherit. However, had he let Dobbs loose last year y'all could have won a few more games, possibly gone undefeated with better game planning.

Butch took over a program with almost zero talent when he got to Knoxville. As in literally the least talented roster in my 26 years on this planet outside of a few offensive lineman who were really solid, but didn't fit his run first spread. He hasn't had much to squander, IMO.

All of the big time players that are on the roster now are the ones that Butch brought in and developed. His first two classes as under classmen were better than the vast majority of the upper classmen that we had on the roster, but they were inexperienced with little to no depth behind them which means we still looked like dog arse until the old guys were cycled out and replaced with SEC depth and talent.

I feel like Sumlin lucked out(or not) by getting Manziel and having him carry the program with some really good wide outs that helped out. Since he's left y'all have gotten worse each year it seems(I might be wrong in terms of W/L but that's just the vibe that I get). Manziel appears to be Sumlins career saving grace at this point, IMO. Since he's left it seems you guys have been slipping. Tennessee is getting better with every year that passes under CBJ. Although admittedly a 9 win season isn't anything to brag about. It's the complete opposite direction the program was heading in prior to Jones though. No offense bruh, but I don't think these 2 guys are all that comparable at this point. But maybe that's just me.

If Jones falls on his face this year then maybe. But I don't see it at this point. In 2013 he basically took over a squad that would have ranked any where from 75th-100th in the country and has that same program ranked in the pre-season top 10 heading into his 4th season as HC.


I do agree about turning Dobbs loose though. The Arkansas game in particular jumps out to me where I felt like the staff hand cuffed the offense and got away from what worked. The same thing can be said for the Defense in the 4th quarter of the Oklahoma and Florida games. Maybe even the Alabama game as we were leading in Tuscaloosa with less than 5 minutes to go in the 4th. Bringing in Shoop as DC was a huge boost to the program though and I think we'll start to see a lot of the defensive shortcomings be corrected this year.

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Jancek called plays like a complete Beta as a DC when it mattered.

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Chavis 2.0

Yea, Sumlin probably doesn't have a job right now without Mike Evans and Johnny F. By all means, we should have won a NC with the talent we had on offense from top to bottom. We could score at will on ANYBODY for almost two seasons.

I guess I assumed that y'all had more talent in 2014 than what was actually there. You guys are trending upward, and it'll be fun to see what plays out this season.

With regard to Sumlin though, I thought I read that he's put together the best record since Slocum and done it while TAMU was transitioning into a brutal new conference and division. In some ways, I think Manziel has been both a blessing and a curse because while he showed TAMU that they had potential it was almost a one man show and wasn't the result of building so much as Johnny being a special player.

I think the QB situation has been more than a bit crazy in College Station but I'm not sure who is to blame. But Sumlin made a great hire with Chavis who will fix the defense and bring it up to SEC standards (that's where talent was the most wasted, imo).

Honestly, given all the x-factors including the unexpected rise of both Mississippi schools it may be a little too soon to judge Sumlin although on the surface there's definitely problems that need to be cleaned up.

I've read this may be the best TAMU team since you've entered the SEC but that it may not achieve as much as it could simply because of the schedule being what it is.

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he has, actually. but given our resources, I still think we should have done better in a few aspects: 1. he hasn't beat LSU, 2. The way in which we've lost to Bama and Ole Miss the last two seasons. IMHO, any team that just flat out quits is a reflection of the coach. I'm ok with getting beat by superior talent, but nobody should ever be able to make a team quit like we have done on a few occasions.

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It's not all about resources though they're certainly helpful. It does take some time to take the next step in a program which is where I think you guys are getting frustrated.

Stability is a huge part of it and that's where TAMU has always looked like a mess from an outsider's perspective. Sumlin inherited a group of ballers but man they were not the best guys in terms of trying to establish a well disciplined program and I think that discipline is what TAMU and Sumlin's teams have been lacking not just in terms of dealing with problems but in terms of being well disciplined, locked in, and focused team.

Can Sumlin establish some locker room control and focus? If he can then I think things can get better. I think Trevor Knight is a very good start in terms of having some maturity and focus in the locker room and hopefully he can influence other players.

I agree with you 100 percent that it is unacceptable to see any team just flat out quit and that is completely on the coaches.

Dooley's teams used to do that every single game. They were spoiled, entitled, and full of drama. We had such discipline issues that former players admitted that they'd go into a workout and sign a sheet and leave without bothering and it was that way in other aspects of the program. Changing the culture and lack of discipline that had set in was one of the first things Jones had to do.

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On paper, this is the most complete we may have EVER had. We'll see though, I just don't have much faith in Sumlin. But hopefully it'll be restored.

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At this point, he's got to show he can do it and hopefully he does. I like Sumlin and think he's a very talented offensive mind but there's obvious problems that need to be fixed and ultimately the buck stops with him.

Sumlin is the obvious answer!

Don't know the answer to your question but good luck to the Aggies this year.