Kevin Sumlin

Early life

Sumlin was born in Brewton, Alabama on August 3, 1964. He later attended Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis, where he played football, basketball, and hockey.

Following his prep career, Sumlin attended Purdue University and was a starting linebacker for his entire college career. He was a member of the 1984 Peach Bowl team and finished in the top ten in total tackles (375) (191 solo, 184 assisted) and in the Top Twenty (191) in solo tackles. He led the team in tackles his freshman season (1983) with 91 total tackles, (50 solo and 41 assisted). He was a teammate of players such as Jim Everett, Hall of Famer Rod Woodson, fellow linebacker Fred Strickland and long-time NFL players Mel Gray and Cris Dishman.

Coaching career

Sumlin served as an assistant with Washington State, Wyoming, Minnesota, and Purdue (with the common denominator of all these coaching stops, except for Minnesota, being Joe Tiller); served as assistant head coach at Texas A&M for two years under R.C. Slocum; and for five years at Oklahoma under Bob Stoops, serving the last 2 years as co-offensive coordinator. In addition to Stoops and Slocum, he has served as an assistant under Dennis Erickson and Mike Price at Washington State and Joe Tiller at Purdue. While at Purdue, he and offensive coordinator Jim Chaney aided Tiller in implementing the then-uncommonly used spread offense, and the Boilermakers, with Drew Brees as starting quarterback, broke a string of Big Ten passing records and made a surprise run to the 2001 Rose Bowl, Purdue's first Rose Bowl in three decades. He left for Texas A&M and served as offensive coordinator and assistant head coach for two seasons before joining the University of Oklahoma.

In his final year with the Sooners, his offense was one of the best in the country, averaging 44 points per game. In December 2009, it was announced that Sumlin was a finalist for the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award. In 2011, Sumlin coached Houston to a 12–0 start before losing the Conference USA Championship Game to the Southern Miss Golden Eagles.

On December 10, 2011, Sumlin told his players that he was leaving Houston, effective immediately, in order to accept a job at another school. KRIV in Houston and ESPN's Joe Schad both reported that Sumlin was to become the new coach at Texas A&M. Special teams coordinator Tony Levine coached Houston in the 2012 TicketCity Bowl.

In 2012, Sumlin named quarterback Johnny Manziel his starter. Johnny Manziel would go on to win the Heisman Trophy and Sumlin would take Texas A&M, in their first year in the Southeastern Conference, to an 11–2 record, including victories over then #1 Alabama in Tuscaloosa, and #11 Oklahoma in the AT&T Cotton Bowl. The Aggies finished the 2012 season ranked in the top 5 of both the Coaches Poll and the AP Poll for the first time since 1956. Texas A&M would also lead the SEC in total offense, total scoring offense, total rushing yds, and led the nation in third down conversion percentage. Kevin Sumlin and the Texas A&M Aggies would become the first SEC team in history to amass over 7,000 yds in total offense. Coach Sumlin was the first head coach to win more than 8 games in his first season as head coach.

On November 30, 2013, Sumlin agreed to a new six-year contract as head coach at Texas A&M. The contract, valued at $30 million over six years, is guaranteed. If Texas A&M had fired him after the 2015 and 2016 seasons the buyout amounts ($20 million and $15 million respectively) would have had to be paid out within 60 days of termination.

Head coaching record

*Sumlin left for Texas A&M after the regular season; Tony Levine coached the Cougars to a 30–14 win over Penn State in the TicketCity Bowl.

Coaching tree

Assistant coaches under Kevin Sumlin who became NCAA or NFL head coaches: