Texas A&M fires head coach Kevin Sumlin

Kevin Sumlin is out as Texas A&M's head coach after six seasons.

Texas A&M director of athletics Scott Woodward announced Sumlin's firing on Sunday. Jeff Banks, who served as the team's special-teams coordinator/tight ends coach, will be the interim head coach. The Houston Chronicle reported last week that Sumlin would be dismissed after the team's game against LSU on Saturday.

"Kevin's tenure included some remarkable achievements and he leaves our program as one of the winningest football coaches in our storied history," Woodward said in a statement. "Kevin made us a better all-around football program and led our program with dignity and character. He's a first-class person.

"Our expectations at A&M are very high. We believe that we should compete for SEC championships on an annual basis and, at times, national championships. I believe that we need a new coach to take us there. On behalf of Aggies everywhere, my thanks to Kevin and his family for his service to Texas A&M. I wish him the very best."

Sumlin went 51-26 as the Aggies' head coach (25-23 against SEC opponents), leading the team to a top-5 finish in a 2012 campaign that saw Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel take home the Heisman Trophy. However, after three consecutive 8-5 seasons from 2014-16, Woodward said in the offseason that going 8-5 is not good enough.

The Aggies finished the regular season 7-5 after Saturday's loss to LSU.

The program produced several top NFL draft picks during Sumlin's tenure, including at least one first-rounder in each of the past five drafts. TAMU had three players selected in Round 1 in 2014 (Jake Matthews, Mike Evans, Manziel) and the Aggies' Myles Garrett was the first overall pick of the 2017 draft.

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