Search Firm: Where does Texas A&M go after firing Kevin Sumlin?

— -- The Kevin Sumlin era is over at Texas A&M.

A tenure that began with Johnny Football, a win at Alabama and standout recruiting classes ended with the inability to sustain success, especially in SEC play. Texas A&M fired Sumlin on Sunday, and he departs with a 51-26 record in six seasons.

Sumlin's firing opens up an upper-tier job in college football. Texas A&M has the resources, facilities, fan base and location to appeal to a wide range of candidates.

Where do the Aggies go from here? ESPN's search firm is on the case. Senior writer Mark Schlabach and staff writer Sam Khan Jr., who has covered Texas A&M for several years, join me to break down the situation in College Station.

Where the Texas A&M job stands

Adam Rittenberg: The Aggies have invested greatly in the facilities, they get the SEC money and, obviously, they're close to a lot of recruits. But you do wonder why they have not won big consistently? That colors my view of the job a little bit, but it does seem to have everything else going for it with the fan base, the boosters, the location. It's definitely one of the top four or five jobs in the SEC.

Sam Khan Jr.:?It's a good job. One of the top 10 jobs in the country? I don't know. It might be right on the cusp of that. It's a difficult job because of being in the same division as Alabama and LSU.?

Mark Schlabach: New stadium, the football facilities, the amount of money the Aggies were paying Sumlin's coordinators, the amount of money they were paying Sumlin and the length of the contract. Other than maybe California and Florida, Texas is the most attractive state for the recruiting base. Other than having to contend with Nick Saban, there are not many drawbacks, other than maybe some boosters and trustees who have their fingers in the football pie a little bit too much. It takes a different kind of guy, a confident guy, to step into that spotlight, because the demands and the expectations are what they are and maybe are not realistic.

What Texas A&M wants

Khan Jr.: Obviously, they're going to cast a net far and wide for candidates, and financially, they can get anybody. The question is: Who can they attract who will want to come to College Station? Naturally, they're going to go toward someone who has Texas ties in recruiting. To match that Alabama and LSU talent, you need someone who can own the state of Texas and can go head to head with Tom Herman over in Austin and fend off Nick Saban and Ed Orgeron. I don't know if they prefer a defensive- or offensive-minded guy.

Schlabach: It has to be a proven head coach with a track record of winning championships. I don't know if it has to be a guy with Texas ties, but it has to be a guy able to recruit the state. I don't know if it's an offensive guy or a defensive guy. It just has to be a guy who has won - and won big.

Khan Jr.: I don't think the Texas thing is a deal-breaker. At this point, they want someone who can get them to an SEC championship. That is what they spent all this money for. That's the one thing they're missing. They want someone who has proven himself to a degree beyond what Kevin Sumlin had proven. Sumlin did a great job at Houston and took it to great heights, but there are very few guys at the Group of 5 level whom, I think, they would take a risk on. Last year, P.J. Fleck is someone they would have considered. Tom Herman obviously would have been someone they would have gunned for. But outside of someone who appears to be really special, they're going to target the guys who have won at the highest level.

Rittenberg: I wonder if it's not just winning as a head coach, but winning as a head coach in a major conference. You don't see the Power 5-to-Power 5 coaching moves as often as people think. Texas A&M has every right to seek that. I don't know if it can land that, but it has every right to seek that coach because of its resources.

The candidates

TCU coach Gary Patterson: He has the defensive background, the ties in the state, the creativity you need to have on defense to put players in different positions. I'd be interested to see him at a place that has everything inherently there to contend for a national championship. -- Rittenberg

He'd be a good choice. Gary is a phenomenal football coach, does things the right way. It will be difficult to get him away from TCU, but a job like Texas A&M could be one of the few jobs he would leave TCU for -- a big state school. -- Schlabach

Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher: He has won a national championship; he's built a perennial power at Florida State. He develops quarterbacks as well as anybody in the country. He's recruited the state of Texas exceptionally well, and they've got some really good players out of the state. It would be difficult to lure him out of Tallahassee, but given the facilities upgrades and how much the Seminoles pay coordinators and assistant coaches, I think he might actually be interested. --? Schlabach

He's a great candidate despite a down season. I just wonder: If he didn't want LSU, would he want A&M? It's a place he hasn't worked before, which maybe works in A&M's favor. -- Rittenberg

Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy: I really think he would be a good fit there because he has done more with less. He certainly has great facilities at Oklahoma State, but it's not the flagship school in the state. So that's a similar dynamic to Texas and Texas A&M. He has recruited Texas fantastically over his time there. There was a time he did better in recruiting Houston than just about any coaching staff. My question is: Since they gave him so much at Oklahoma State, I wonder if he's even willing to leave at this point? --? Khan Jr.

He has an offensive background, similar to Sumlin's. He has recruited the state of Texas forever. His accomplishments are underrated nationally. He doesn't get as much credit as he should for winning 10 games a year. I don't know if he'd want to be in the SEC and if his style would necessarily work, but he's a guy you at least call, even though he seems more comfortable at Oklahoma State. -- Rittenberg

SMU coach Chad Morris: He's mentioned a lot in the industry as a guy who will move up soon. He has tremendous ties to the state of Texas, recruits well and has a great offense. He has not done a whole lot at SMU, and that would be the biggest drawback. But everything else seems to check. Maybe not the first choice, but he could be in the second or third wave. - Rittenberg

He would be a good Plan B. His track record as an offensive coordinator speaks for itself. You would like to have seen him do a little bit more at SMU, but it's a really difficult job. He went to school there, he knows the area, he knows the state. He brings an exciting brand of football. It's just: Has he done enough to warrant a job like Texas A&M? -- Schlabach

Washington coach Chris Petersen: You have to call if you're Aggies athletic director Scott Woodward because of the relationship [Woodward hired Petersen at Washington]. But knowing Chris Petersen and how private he likes to be, I just can't see him wanting to step into that kind of situation. He has shown at Washington that he can make the playoff and still stay off the radar. I just don't think his personality would be right or successful, necessarily, in that environment. --? Rittenberg

Memphis coach Mike Norvell: He's from Dallas, knows the area. I think there are a lot of similarities between Mike Norvell and Lincoln Riley. He has ties to the west after working at Arizona State. He's one I would at least look into.?-- Rittenberg

UTSA coach Frank Wilson: He's not proven enough yet, but you talk about someone who can recruit -- Frank Wilson can recruit. He has done a really good job at UTSA in a short amount of time. I just don't know if he has had that job long enough for the A&M brass to be OK with him making the jump. It would be similar to Chad Morris in some ways.? -- Khan Jr.

The search firm recommends: Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher

Texas A&M needs to think big with this hire. While we all think Patterson is a great fit, his recent contract extension at TCU almost guarantees he's not going anywhere. Fisher brings a national championship, elite recruiting ability and a track record of quarterback development to a program that will give him every possible resource to compete at the highest level. He's the type of coach who matches the investment Texas A&M has put into its program. Fisher can compete with Nick Saban and will relish the chance to thrive in the hypercompetitive SEC. When a coach with Fisher's credentials becomes available, schools need to act quickly and decisively. Texas A&M will do so here.