Kevin Sumlin hits the reset button at Arizona
Kevin Sumlin
Arizona Wildcats head football coach  Kevin Sumlin . (Photo: Mike Christy  AP)
The beginning of the end for  Kevin Sumlin  at Texas A&M was not a 59-0 loss to Alabama or an embarrassing Johnny Manziel headline or going 3-3 against Mississippi State. Instead  it was the first week of December in 2013 when he signed a contract that ensured heâd never have to worry about money ever again.
It almost seems silly now  in a world where Gus Malzahn is going to make $7 million per season and where you can set your clock by Kirk Ferentz getting his contract extended  that  Sumlin âs contract became an issue in how he was perceived. But it was  because even as coaches eventually signed new deals that surpassed his  it was impossible to get over the idea that in his third season  the only coaches whose contracts compared were Nick Saban  Mack Brown  Bob Stoops  Urban Meyer and Les Miles  as if he constantly had to prove to fans and media (Iâm guilty of this  too) that he deserved to be paid that much money.
âIt wasnât distracting to me at all â  Sumlin  said Tuesday during a phone conversation following  his  introductory news conference at Arizona. âThe funny part is  it was public that (the buyout) was payable within 60 days. But if you looked at it  there were three or four bigger ones than mine that nobody talked about.â
 He âs right  of course. For all the hand-wringing about whether  he  was living up to the contract   Sumlin âs buyout ended up at $10.5 million  behind what Arkansas had to pay Bret Bielema (could be as much as $15.4 million)  what UCLA had to pay Jim Mora ($12 million) and what Arizona State had to pay Todd Graham ($12 million).
Thatâs important to think about as  Sumlin  settles into  his  promising new job at Arizona because  in many ways  you wonder in this coaching environment whether  he  might yet again be a step ahead of the game.
Unless youâre competing for national championships â and realistically  there are only about seven schools right now who are doing that â  Sumlin âs quality of life at Arizona is going to be better than 99% of  his  peers  even though now  he âll be more like the 50th highest-paid coach in the country rather than in the top 10.
âIt was the right time and right place for me â  Sumlin  said. âIt was a good fit.â
Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin and receiver Camron Buckley. (Photo: Kim Klement  USA TODAY Sports)
Arizona Wildcats head football coach  Kevin Sumlin . (Photo: Mike Christy  AP)
The beginning of the end for   [TGT]  was not a 59-0 loss to Alabama or an embarrassing Johnny Manziel headline or going 3-3 against Mississippi State. Instead  it was the first week of December in 2013 when  [TGT]  signed a contract that ensured heâd never have to worry about money ever again.
It almost seems silly now  in a world where Gus Malzahn is going to make $7 million per season and where you can set your clock by Kirk Ferentz getting his contract extended  that  Sumlin âs contract became an issue in how he was perceived. But it was  because even as coaches eventually signed new deals that surpassed his  it was impossible to get over the idea that in his third season  the only coaches whose contracts compared were Nick Saban  Mack Brown  Bob Stoops  Urban Meyer and Les Miles  as if he constantly had to prove to fans and media (Iâm guilty of this  too) that he deserved to be paid that much money.
âIt wasnât distracting to me at all â  Sumlin  said Tuesday during a phone conversation following  his  introductory news conference at Arizona. âThe funny part is  it was public that (the buyout) was payable within 60 days. But if you looked at it  there were three or four bigger ones than mine that nobody talked about.â
 He âs right  of course. For all the hand-wringing about whether  he  was living up to the contract   Sumlin âs buyout ended up at $10.5 million  behind what Arkansas had to pay Bret Bielema (could be as much as $15.4 million)  what UCLA had to pay Jim Mora ($12 million) and what Arizona State had to pay Todd Graham ($12 million).
Thatâs important to think about as  Sumlin  settles into  his  promising new job at Arizona because  in many ways  you wonder in this coaching environment whether  he  might yet again be a step ahead of the game.
Unless youâre competing for national championships â and realistically  there are only about seven schools right now who are doing that â  Sumlin âs quality of life at Arizona is going to be better than 99% of  his  peers  even though now  he âll be more like the 50th highest-paid coach in the country rather than in the top 10.
âIt was the right time and right place for me â  Sumlin  said. âIt was a good fit.â
Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin and receiver Camron Buckley. (Photo: Kim Klement  USA TODAY Sports)