Meet the mother of all buyout provisions.
The real MVP in this situation is Sumlin’s agent Trace Armstrong, who convinced Texas A&M in November 2013 to guarantee the entirety of a six-year, $30 million deal and then convinced university officials to agree to a condition that the entirety of his buyout would have to be paid within 60 days of a potential firing. Had LSU gone through with firing Les Miles, Miles would have been owed $16 million. That buyout would have been payable over eight years, making it far more tolerable than a lump sum. Sumlin has extra protection because if he is fired after the ’16 campaign, A&M would have two months to pay him $15 million. [Emphasis added.]
Now that’s job security. TAMU’s 2012 win over Alabama has to be the most expensive victory in the history of college football.
Get The Picture 
Is that the same Trace Armstrong that played for the Gators?
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Came here to ask the exact question. Dude was 4′ tall and 4′ wide.
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He is.
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Trace Armstrong was a good player. Sounds like he has become a pretty good agent, too.
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I need his agent to negotiate my contracts….
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Nobody ever gives Charlie Weis credit for trailblazing.
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Actually it was Notre Dame’s LOSS to USC in ’05 that is the most expensive in history!!
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Even Jimmy Sexton has to be impressed. Damn! That must be written in Armstrong’s handbook on how to bankrupt an athletic department.
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Bet the thought of him gives ADGM chills and nightmares.
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Allow me to point out that these morons suffer from the same delusion a lot of fans do. Crediting coachin’ when it’s really about the roster. The folks in college station should have credited Johnny football not Sumlin for the success. Everybody is too quick to attribute success to coachin’ when it’s really about the players. 2 moves on and all of sudden sumlin can’t coach. He’s the same coach he was. TAMU just hasn’t gotten another Johnny football and likely never will.
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Not when he’s r-u-n-n-o-f-t not one, but TWO 5-star QBs this season.
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If you are saying that a bad HC can f*ck up a program easier than a good HC can build one, I totally agree. But who the HC is matters–a lot. That’s why you have to be careful who you hire. I just think Kirby Smart was hired for all the wrong reasons (“one of our own,” etc.) instead if because of his own merit. I am hoping it will still work out great. But, frankly, I am not optimistic. We’ll be going through all this again in another 3-5 years.
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If that’s the case, why fire him? Give him an office in the basement and force him to come to work everyday. Then still hire a new coach. It won’t cost you any more, but you won’t have to pay it right away.
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That is pretty good thinking but many contracts have a provision that you cannot be demoted organizationally, or have your responsibilities reduced, without triggering your buyout, except for cause. None of us know the situation at TAMU, but that two month payoff would hurt even the financially stable ones.
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Sumlin should send Johnny Schnozz a huge fruit basket.
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