An occasional foray onto the nation's hottest seats. Part of the Doc's Big 12 Week.

Most new head coaches get honeymoons that last at least a few games into their debut seasons. To hear some people tell it, Texas A&M head coach Mike Sherman's honeymoon was over within a few days of moving into his office. BAck in December of 2007, ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach questioned why A&M athletic director Bill Byrne hired Sherman only three days after firing Dennis Franchione -- skipping over potentially interested prospects like Tommy Tuberville -- and gave the hire a 'C' grade. Citing Nebraska's failed foray into the NFL ranks, CBSSports.com's characteristically caustic Gregg Doyel called Sherman "Callahan 2.0." Even a columnist for A&M's own student newspaper said the Sherman hire was as boring as "replacing steamed broccoli with steamed carrots."

Unfair? Kinda. But Sherman hardly helped his own cause in 2008, going 4-8 and -- thanks to a three-touchdown loss to Baylor that could have been even worse -- finishing dead last in the Big XII South. Against division arch-rivals Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma, the Aggies lost by an average score of 53-21. Other than perhaps Michigan's Rich Rodriguez, no current second-year coach is under more pressure to win in 2009.

Why he was hired. Sherman spent a substantial part of assistant coaching career at Texas A&M, where he most notably coached the offensive line through R.C. Slocum's back-to-back-to-back Southwest Conference titles in 1991-93. After leaving the Aggies for the Green Bay Packers at the end of 1996, Sherman worked his way up through the pro ranks and was tapped to replace Mike Holmgren in 2000; in six seasons, Sherman led the Packers to three division titles and a 59-43 record.

"Uh-oh" moment. Like previously profiled Embattled Coach Dan Hawkins, Sherman suffered an uh-oh in his very first outing with his new team, in which the Ags frittered away a 14-3 halftime lead, were shut out in the second half and lost 18-14 to lowly Arkansas State. It was the Aggies' first loss in a home opener in more than 20 years and ASU's first win over a Big XII team in 15 tries.

Embarrassing attempt to right the ship. Through the trials and tribulations, Sherman's tenure has been blessedly free of desperate motivational gimmicks or unhinged rants to the media. If anything, Aggie fans have accused Sherm of being milquetoast and overly low-key, which can present its own sort of problems. Here, for example, is Sherman cheering on his ex-players at the NFL Combine in February:

Well, you know, you have good days and you have bad days. The important thing is your dignity. (That is, that even while fast asleep on national television, you're still wearing pants.) 

Can this marriage be saved? Absolutely, says Ryan of the Aggie blog Texas A&M and Baseball in No Particular Order, as Sherman is getting plenty of benefit of the doubt based on what the previous regime left him:

I think 2008 was somewhat of a shock simply because we didn't think it would be that bad, but we knew going into the season it was going to be a long year. The results of 2008 were completely due to Coach Fran's inability on the recruiting trail. We had decent annual rankings but they were inflated by JUCOs who came and went (or didn't come at all) and by kids who couldn't get in or got kicked off. All schools have attrition but it seems that a higher percentage of our attrition came from our higher-ranked recruits.

Sherman walked into a program that had eight scholarship offensive linemen (after a walk-on was given a scholarship). We started the season with a two-deep that totaled 21 career starts, all from two players (16 by Travis Schnieder and 5 from Michael Shumard). To top that off we were hit severely by the injury bug at the position but didn't have a two-deep so we had to limp through. We returned two all-conference tailbacks (Mike Goodson and Jorvorskie Lane) and a blue-chip true freshman tailback (Cyrus Gray) and we had the lowest rushing average in something like 40 years. The offensive line was horrific ... but if anyone can turn around an OL it is Mike Sherman, who specialized at the position at the NFL level.

As a result, Ryan gives Sherm only about "a two percent chance" of getting canned after the 2009 season. Over at I Am the 12th Man, "Coach Beergut" thinks a firing is even less likely:

There is a zero percent chance he will be fired following the 2009 season, regardless of record. The only way he would be fired is if he did something completely immoral/illegal that embarrassed the school/program, or if he violated NCAA rules in an egregious manner. (I beieve all NCAA coaches have a similar moral turpitude/NCAA sanctions release clause in their contract.)

I think the minimum expectations in 2009 are a 6-6 record and a bowl berth. The fanbase will be happy seeing some improvement. If we win more than 6 games, that is gravy. If we manage to upset Texas or Oklahoma, the fanbase will be ecstatic.

If Sherman had another season where we go 0-5 against the other teams in the Big 12 South, there would definitely be some rumblings from the fans and some discontent, but he isn't going anywhere.

Approximate hotness of seat. A leather car seat on a warm day: Toasty, but nothing that won't cool down over time. Barring a complete 0-12 implosion, Sherman's employment status is safe for 2009, but a bowl bid would go a long way toward ensuring we don't have this same conversation a year from now.

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Other coaches on the hot seat: Steve Kragthorpe, Al Groh, Charlie Weis, Dan Hawkins, George O'Leary.