Let’s put it this way – I don’t think Mike Sherman did a bad job in College Station. But he’s a victim of circumstance here, that circumstance being the move to the Southeastern Conference.

If the Aggies were going to be in the Big 12 next year, Sherman would likely still be employed. But the move to the SEC forced athletic director Bill Byrne and the Aggie administration to make a move.

The SEC is an ultra-competitive conference that requires stellar coaches who can manage X’s and O’s, recruiting and all of the pressure that comes with that. As good as the Big 12 is, the SEC is on another planet, and the Aggies must have thought that Sherman didn’t have the goods to make it work.

Sherman was always a curious hire, even though he was twice an Aggie assistant in the 1990s. He’s best known as a NFL coach in Green Bay and, at the time of his hiring, he was a coordinator with the Houston Texans. When A&M hired him, he hadn’t coached in college football in nearly 15 years. He had one winning season, which came last year when the Aggies caught fire at midseason. But that momentum didn’t translate to another good year, and Sherman’s tenure ends with three out of four losing seasons. The record didn’t spell progress.

The timing is curious, though. The Aggies have been done for a week. As Byrne patiently waited to make a decision, both Urban Meyer and Mike Leach were snapped up, and they were the best free agents on the market. Not that either would have come to Aggieland, honestly. But by dragging his feet, he missed his chance to court either one of them. True, A&M is an above-average job, but the program has been relatively average since it fired R.C. Slocum and it can’t afford to get left behind this time. The stakes in the SEC are too high.

So who fits the bill? The Aggies will likely look for someone who has coached in the conference before, whether as a head coach or an assistant coach, and understands how to recruit SEC players and how to game plan for SEC teams. Some names come immediately to mind. Who are they? Find out after the jump, along with more questions and answers heading into conference championship weekend.

Jackie Sherrill: Former Aggies coach who also coached at Mississippi State. He hasn’t coached since 2003, but he understands the SEC game.

Houston Nutt: Former Arkansas and Mississippi coach who just resigned from the Rebels. Might be the best retread option out there.

Kirby Smart: The Alabama defensive coordinator is drawing interest from Ole Miss already.

Gus Mahlzan: The Auburn offensive coordinator turned down Vandy a year ago. A&M might be more enticing.

Kirk Franklin: Did you see what he did with Vanderbilt this year? Think about what he could do with an actual budget and facilities?

Mike London: Not an SEC guy, but the ACC Coach of the Year has turned the Cavaliers into a winner in just two years.

Kevin Sumlin: The Houston head coach is riding a wave of attention. Plenty of schools will show interest. Sumlin can help them keep in-state recruits. UCLA will want to talk to him.

The Aggies should move quickly to find their replacement, especially if they have their eye on Franklin, London and Sumlin, who could move fast once the season concludes this weekend.

What are the chances of Georgia beating LSU this weekend?

I have a very hard time seeing it. Mark Richt has done a great job during Georgia’s 10-game winning streak and quarterback Aaron Murray is looking more and more like a superstar. But the Bulldogs didn’t face either Alabama or LSU during the regular season, a fortunate break given that the Bulldogs only won the SEC East by a game over South Carolina. I think LSU’s defense does a number on Murray and the Bulldogs and pulls away in the second half.

How surprising is it that Mike Price will return to UT-El Paso in 2012?

I’m actually quite stunned. I put Price on the hot seat last month. Price has had six losing seasons in El Paso since going 8-4 in both 2004 and 2005. I can’t think of a recent coach that survived that long without a winning season. It’s almost unheard of nowadays. Heck, some coaches get fired after winning seasons. The athletic department gave no reason for keeping Price in its official story on its Web site, but in an interview with the El Paso Times UTEP athletic director Mike Stull said he valued continuity. Plus, the Miners are actually better under Price, even with the losing seasons, than they were before he arrived. That tells you how bad the Miners were. It should be noted that Price didn’t get a contract extension, so he’s basically coaching for a new deal in 2012.

What’s it going to take to pry Chris Petersen from Boise State?

I’m not sure anything can at this point. If UCLA couldn’t do it, who can? Maybe USC? Maybe Oregon, where Petersen was once an assistant? He’s a West Coast guy and UCLA would have been a big jump for him. But look at it logically. He’s been in Boise for a decade. He’s won 71 of 77 games. His program is one of the best in the country. And he’ll finally get into the automatic qualifying world with the move to the Big East. That will provide easier access to the national championship game (unless the BCS changes the rules). What more does he need? Petersen appears to be a lot like TCU’s Gary Patterson, who has been a candidate at countless jobs only to stay in Fort Worth. The grass isn’t always greener, and it’s nice to see a couple of coaches who value what they’ve built and don’t see it as a stepping stone, especially when what they’ve built is among the best in the country.

Who should I take in the conference championship games this weekend?

If you’re not taking into account the line, and I don’t, I’m taking LSU in the SEC, Virginia Tech in the ACC, Houston in Conference USA (a game that I think will end up being the best conference title game of the bunch), Wisconsin in the Big Ten and Oregon in the Pac-12. Plus, Oklahoma State beats Oklahoma. Unfortunately, that scenario leaves us stuck with LSU and Alabama in the BCS title game. Ugh.

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