Will Sherman be different?

The Texas A&M Aggies knew Mike Sherman when he was a offensive line coach under legendary coach R.C. Slocum. He seemed like a low-key guy. He rarely talked to the media, preferring to leave that to his boss.

A decade later, Sherman returns and what has emerged is an entirely different kind of coach. Oh! Sure this is the same Sherman who coached for the Green Bay Packers and who lost his job. He's the same guy who was assistant to Gary Kubiak at the Houston's Texans.

He is an amazing contrast to failed head coach Dennis Franchione. Fran in 2003 stepped out of a jet at Easterwood Airport onto a red carpet amid much bravado. Aggies were looking for a quick-fix guy. Franchione didn't mind telling Aggies and the media he was “it”.

At his home debut, Franchione led the team out of a cloud of smoke in the newly finished south end with Hollywood-epic-style music blaring and the big screen proudly proclaiming “It was a dawn of a new era.” One disastrous half decade later the university hires Mr. low-key Sherman.

Suddenly, Sherman seems to be everywhere. One day he's out in Midland telling Aggies he's going to go after Texas Tech and Mike Leach's spread offense. The next day he's eating barbecue in Austin and telling Aggies he's not happy with big guy fullback Jorvorskie Lane's weight. Lane's currently listed at 285 on the Aggie 2008 roster.

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Next he sets up a Power Point© presentation and shows it to the home town crowd in College Station. There's something different. Sherman is showing a certain passion that no one expected. Certainly Aggies had grown tired of Franchione's whining, excuse-riddled talks. What every Aggie secretly hoped for is a coach ... well ... like “Bear” Bryant.

Bryant's first speech to the Aggies was pure passion. He stepped out onto an outdoor stage in the hot Texas sun. He pitched his hat aside, took off his coat, stripped off his tie, took the microphone, and started talking! He let it be known that it was no longer business as usual at Texas A&M. He hustled the team off to Junction, Texas, some 150 miles west of the campus. The rest is legend.

Media in San Antonio, Austin, Fort Worth, and College Station are reporting that Sherman has caught fire. His speeches are impassioned. He's pulling no punches. The murmur in the hallways during the Big 12 media days was that Sherman would probably right the Aggie ship. Of course, that came from the same sportswriters who five years earlier thought Franchione was the “quick-fix guy.”

“If we screw up, we'll tell you we screwed up,” Sherman told one Aggie crowd.

“If every defender is not running to the ball, you guys need to start yelling at us,” he told another crowd.

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His motto: “Raising the Bar.” To punctuate that, he's having a bar installed so that the players can see it. He installed the old Vince Lombardi time system at Aggieland: If you're late, you pay. No one was late for Lombardi. For Sherman.... To make sure there were no excuses, Sherman installed clocks everywhere that athletes gather.

Of course, all this is talk. Sherman now must prove he's different. He must win football games.

Aggie's won't stand for more blow outs like the 0-77 debacle in Norman in 2003 or the total collapse against Iowa State in 2005. Oh yes! Aggies want to see bowl victories, too.

Summer workouts begin Aug. 4. The first game is Aug. 30. It's time for Sherman to make something happen.

By Jay Goode
Big 12 Fans Texas A&M Correspondent

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