Kevin Sumlin is firmly entrenched on the hot seat at Texas A&M and the entire college football world knows it. However, one person that was seemingly responsible for Sumlin's contract in College Station is now indicating publicly that it really wasn't his call.
Eric Hyman, who hasn't been the AD at Texas A&M since early 2016, sat down with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram this week and, in short, he denied any responsibility for the massive six-year, $30 million contract extension that Sumlin currently operates under.
"No. I had nothing to do with it.
"I have done this job a long time and I don't blame Kevin Sumlin. If someone is going to give you $5 million a year for six years, it would have been stupid of him to turn it down. But the contract was given to me, and it was 'This is what we are going to do.' I looked at myself and I was stunned."
From there, Hyman wasn't shy about denying his own involvement, indicating that he would have had no buyout provision in Sumlin's contract if given the choice.
"I had no say so over it. I've been doing this job for a long time. I had worked with Steve Spurrier for years, and he was paid a heck of a lot less than Coach Sumlin. And he won national championships after conference championships. And then you are making this commitment to a person, and again I don't blame Kevin, that's never won a conference championship.
"When the original contract was given to me, if Kevin were to leave the next day there was no buyout provision."
There isn't really a way to prove the intent here on Hyman's side and, obviously, there is a bit of self-interest here. Still, it does not reflect positively on the other powers that be in College Station and the Sumlin saga will only increase in visibility if A&M is unable to knock off Arkansas in Arlington this weekend.
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