Texas A&M set to hire Air Force DC?

Air Force defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter will be leaving the academy to become the defensive coordinator at Texas A&M, according to a source close to the situation. – Colorado Springs Gazette

Joe Kines retires as Aggies’ defensive coordinator

Joe Kines has spoken lovingly of his wife, Rubye, and her cooking over his past two years at Texas A&M. Kines, 65, will now get to savor much more of both – along with other joys of retirement. Kines on Wednesday announced his departure as the Aggies’ defensive coordinator and assistant head coach. “God has blessed me so much,” Kines said. “I am a man of faith and family, and I feel like it is time for me to retire. … It’s time for Rubye and me to spend a lot more time with our grandsons.” A&M coach Mike Sherman said Wednesday he shouldn’t have trouble filling the vacancy, but didn’t set a timetable for doing so. “I have no doubt we will attract quality candidates for the defensive coordinator position,” Sherman said. – Houston Chronicle

Joe Kines mum on his future with Aggies

A&M has experienced a seven-season run of defensive misery under the guidance of Carl Torbush, Gary Darnell and Kines for the past two. Kines’ defense ranks 107th nationally (out of 120 teams), and allowed a whopping 49 points per game over the Aggies’ six losses. Coach Mike Sherman has pledged to get the A&M defense on track, and spoke generally when asked if he expected his coaching staff to return intact. “At the end of every season, after our last ball game, I sit down with them and we go through an evaluation process,” Sherman said. Should Kines retire and Sherman promotes from within, cornerbacks coach Chuck McMillian is expected to be a strong candidate for the coordinator’s position. For now, however, Kines simply will focus on stopping Georgia’s trap — or anything else making the Bulldogs’ offense tick. – Express-News

Texas A&M, Mike Sherman starting over amid 3-game losing streak

Texas A&M started 3-0 and the Aggies seemed headed in the right direction early in Coach Mike Sherman’s second season. But the Aggies lost their next two games and then got humiliated 62-14 at Kansas State on Saturday, a shockingly lopsided loss that raises questions about just how much progress the program has made. A&M (3-3, 0-2 Big 12) suffered its worst defeat since a 77-0 thrashing against then-No. 1 Oklahoma late in the 2003 season, and the Aggies collapsed in every phase. A shell-shocked Sherman had no explanation on Monday for why the Aggies played so poorly. He acknowledged that A&M is still short on talent at several positions, but he also said the team practiced well last week. “We never saw it coming,” Sherman said. – AP

Mike Sherman right guy to turn around Texas A&M?

Texas A&M Aggies complaining about Mike Sherman after one season don’t understand the program he inherited, the reconstruction he had to do. In fact, one of the most impressive things Sherman did last season, one of the things that endeared him to people in and around the program, was to make the talent level a forbidden topic. It’s not just that he refused to blame his 4-8 record on his predecessor, Dennis Franchione. It’s that he wasn’t going to throw his players under the bus to make himself look good. He wanted Fran’s recruits to know they were now his recruits, A&M’s recruits. They were all Aggies, and they were going to work hard and get better and do things right. Beyond the football is the fact Sherman is exactly the kind of man Aggies want representing Texas A&M. He will emphasize graduation rates and good citizenship along with football. – Houston Chronicle

Strong Almost Landed Minnesota; Fran Wants Back In

Gophers athletics director Joel Maturi confirmed Tuesday that he had final interviews with just two football coaches before he hired Tim Brewster two years ago. The other was Florida defensive coordinator Charlie Strong. “I call coaches that I know and respect, I call athletic directors I know and respect, I call commissioners I know and respect,” Maturi said of his search. “Obviously some call me with recommendations, and that’s how I heard about Tim Brewster. “I had never known Tim Brewster’s name, I had no clue who he was, and when somebody mentioned his name to me, I still didn’t know who he was. But he was on a list of, I don’t know, 75 names.” – Pioneer Press

“Coach Fran” could be a wild card in the coaching carousel. He has been a builder of programs, excelling at being able to identify what’s wrong, what needs to be fixed, what can be fixed and how to fix it. And Dennis Franchione, 57, has done it at nearly every level, enjoying success at places ranging from Division II Pittsburg (Kan.) State to Alabama. Add it all up, he has a 187-101-2 record in 23 years as a coach, helping lead teams to eight bowls and eight league titles. “If I can go back and coach again, I don’t know that level is a concern to me,” Franchione says. “I have been full cycle. I’ve been there and done that. I’m open to about any level if it’s a good fit and my family would be happy. And I may have an opportunity to hire my son (Brad). He has earned his spurs. He won the national championship two years ago at Blinn (Texas junior college) and has a good team this year.” – Rivals.com

Bowden to A&M?: Heat Rising In Aggieland

It appears certain that Texas A&M will lose five games at Kyle Field this season for the first time… ever, and it has the boosters talking. And who is this small booster block discussing? Former Clemson Tigers head coach Tommy Bowden. Despite his mid-season resignation at Clemson, there’s no disputing Bowden’s record as head coach at Tulane and Clemson. Bowden’s Green Wave went 12-0 and achieved a top-10 final ranking in both polls in 1998, before being hired as head coach at Clemson. With the exception of a self-imposed bowl-game ban in 2004, Bowden’s teams went to bowl games in every season during his tenure - eight times in nine years. Bowden rebuilt Clemson into a consistent top-twenty team year-in and year-out, and he demonstrated a great ability to rally the booster base for fundraising. Bowden’s staff was filled with strong recruiters and he consistently out-recruited SEC and ACC teams in the skill positions. Bowden set Clemson records for the highest scoring season, second highest scoring season, third highest scoring season and fourth highest scoring season in team history. And - perhaps most importantly - Bowden showed that he could beat Clemson’s biggest rivals, going 7-1 against South Carolina and winning three straight against FSU. At age 54, Bowden seems to have the passion and window of opportunity to lead a team for the next ten plus years. He almost left Clemson last season to take the position at Arkansas but opted to accept a contract extension that kept him at CU. Having built a winner at the state’s smaller public university with a strong military tradition, he understands the unique character that schools like Clemson and Texas A&M have to offer recruits. – FanBlogs.com

Mike Sherman and his Texas A&M staff aren’t doing the worst coaching job in college football. They can’t be. With Michigan’s Rich Rodriguez and Co. creating the blue in Big Blue, Sherman’s crew isn’t even doing the worst job among the big boys. (Let’s not waste energy arguing whether A&M is one of the big boys.) Of course, a number of not so big boys are better than A&M right now. After Saturday’s 43-25 loss to Texas Tech, Jeff Sagarin’s computer has A&M rated 110th in the country. According to Sagarin’s calculations, the Aggies have performed better than only two BCS-conference schools — No. 117 Washington and No. 120 Syracuse — and been outperformed by a host of lower-level Division I schools and even 12 Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) squads. To break it down a little further: Not only is A&M ranked below Southern Cal, it is behind Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. – Houston Chronicle