College Station, TX (My Sportsbook) - The Texas A&M Aggies have fired R.C. Slocum, the winningest football coach in the school's history. Slocum told his players of the firing Monday afternoon. He had three years remaining on his contract and was reportedly being paid more than $1 million per season. Texas A&M President Robert M. Gates asked Slocum to step down as coach and to assume the role of Special Advisor to the President. "It was with great sadness and disappointment that I learned today that I was being fired as the head football coach at Texas A&M," said Slocum. "We had a season where we lost several close games that could have gone either way and no one was more disappointed than me with our record. However, we have some really outstanding young players and I felt our future was bright." The Aggies went 6-6 this season and finished out of the top 25 for the third straight year, but Slocum has never posted a losing season in 14 years as head coach of the Aggies. His 6-6 mark matched his worst record at the school, tying the 1996 team. The 58-year-old Slocum has a 123-47-2 record as the Aggies' head coach. The Aggies finished their season with a 50-20 loss to Big 12 rival Texas on Friday. Texas A&M went to 11 bowl games under Slocum, but went just 3-8 in those contests. He won four conference championships during his tenure, including the Big 12 title in 1998. Slocum first joined the Aggies as an offensive assistant in 1972. |
