SEC Media Days: Sumlin does not dodge hot seat discussion

MORE SEC MEDIA DAYS: Wommack's takeaways | A&M freshmen impressing

When Texas A&M athletic director Scott Woodward put Kevin Sumlin on the hot seat back in May, the college football world took attention. After all, it’s not often an AD publicly puts pressure on his coach in the manner that Woodward did when he said that Sumlin “knows he has to win and win this year.”

So when Sumlin took the podium at SEC Media Days on Wednesday, it was only a matter of time before reporters zeroed in on the topic. But instead of run away from it or dance around the question, Sumlin let it be known that he’s embracing the pressure from the outside because he already holds himself to a high standard.

“I’m feeling the same pressure I feel all of the time and so nobody puts more pressure on me than me,” Sumlin said. “That pressure, it never changed. It never changed from the first day I got here when we opened with Florida and lost and then went on to win however many games we won or whatever happens. We’re here to compete for championships. How we do that, when we do that, basically, the why, with and how, that remains internal, but that’s my job. And the pressure for that never changes.”

Once viewed as an up-and-coming coaching star, Sumlin was even in the discussion for NFL jobs. But his inability to find stability at the quarterback position in recent years has contributed to the Aggies inconsistences.

So headed into a make-or-break season, Sumlin is also dealing with uncertainty at quarterback. Five-star freshman Kellen Mond drew praise from Sumlin and the Aggies players in attendance on Wednesday, but on a team full of veteran skill position players it would be a bold move for Mond to be the man under center from the season’s opening snap.

One of Texas A&M’s most important players, former five-star and current junior wide receiver Christian Kirk, said the team isn’t focusing on the rumors surrounding their coach. But he knows they need to do their part on the field this year.

"As players, we focus on what we have to focus on,” Kirk said. “Coach Sumlin's not the one who's going out there playing. It's us. It's on us, those second-half slumps at the end of the season."

Several factors have played into the late-year struggles for the Aggies over the past few seasons, but whether it be injuries, quarterback issues or defensive problems, the time for making excuses is over, according to Sumlin.

He said he’s relying on veteran players such as Kirk to pass that message onto the younger Aggies.

“When you have a leadership group and older guys that understand that,” Sumlin said. “That have been through the things in November that we've been through, that understand that the head coach is trying to change it, and here's what we need to do and pass that along to the young guys, that's what leadership is about, and that's what we feel right now.”

So what will it take for Sumlin to be back for another year in College Station? That remains to be seen. But if his players are believed, he’s done everything to put his team in position to succeed.

“I love coach Sumlin and I love the program he has put together,” senior offensive lineman Koda Martin said. “I love the staff that he has put together. I believe that he is doing everything he can to make sure we are going to win. We have been getting after it this summer, we have a new strength staff that is doing a lot to help us prepare. There is a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes that people just don’t see.”