Kevin Sumlin moving on from UCF’s coach search, sees himself as a better fit elsewhere

This was an idea worth considering, but it won’t happen.

UCF’s in the market for a new football coach, now that Scott Frost is on his way to Nebraska. The 12-0 Knights discussed their vacancy this week with recently fired Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin, but the two parties won’t reach a deal.

A source close to the hiring process told SB Nation that Sumlin thinks UCF offers a great job, but he sees himself as a better fit elsewhere. The news that Sumlin was out of the running at UCF was first reported here:

Sumlin has a $10.4 million buyout coming to him from Texas A&M, whether he gets another job or not. He went 51-26 in his six seasons leading the Aggies, though he lost exactly five games in every year after 2013. His best season by far was 2012, when he had Johnny Manziel at quarterback, beat Alabama, and went 11-2.

Here’s why this made sense to talk about in the first place:

Sumlin’s time in College Station didn’t go well after that year. But at 53, Sumlin’s not so old that he can’t have another good run in him. He’s been successful in the past at Houston, where he went 35-17 in four years before A&M hired him away. The Knights are a program of similar stature, and they’re also in a fertile recruiting area. Sumlin would’ve taken over a good team in a good recruiting spot.

A Sumlin-to-UCF move would have echoed Charlie Strong’s hiring by USF before the 2017 season. Strong didn’t succeed at Texas, a massive program with massive expectations. Sumlin didn’t really succeed at A&M, also a huge program with huge expectations. But he still has a strong resume and a track record of winning elsewhere, and UCF would be a soft place to land just like USF was for Strong.

Sumlin has also been connected to the jobs at Tennessee, Arizona State, and Florida State. But none of those is happening, in all likelihood, for various reasons. We’re likely to see Sumlin’s name continue to come up in other searches.