After one season in the USFL, Houston Gamblers head coach and general manager Kevin Sumlin is adding another job to his resume as he appears to be heading back to college at Maryland.
Matt Zenitz of On3 Sports reported on Twitter Tuesday that he would be returning to college for the first time since being the head coach of the Arizona Wildcats. He will be tasked with coaching the tight ends and helping the offense at Maryland.
Sumlin’s coaching background is mostly in college as he has been a coach since 1989. He served as an assistant coach for multiple schools until 2008 when he became the head coach of Houston.
After four successful seasons at Houston, he would go on to coach Texas A&M from 2012 until 2017. He would then be fired from Texas A&M and join Arizona as their head coach. Three straight losing seasons led to him being fired five games into his third season there. He finished his college career recording a 95-63 record in 13 seasons winning four bowl games in the process.
Sumlin stepped into the professional football realm being named head coach and general manager of the Houston Gamblers. Last year, the team finished 3-7 on the season but won their last two games of the year.
The Gamblers have been in a rebuilding stage this offseason after losing their defensive coordinator Tim Lewis as he joined the XFL. They also lost key defensive players including Donald Payne, Chris Odom, Will Likely, and Reggie Northrup. Houston also lost wide receiver Isaiah Zuber to the NFL.
The good news for the Gamblers is they get a good portion of their offensive players back with quarterback Kenji Bahar returning to be the favorite to start. Other returning players include running back Mark Thompson, receivers JoJo Ward, Anthony Ratliff-Williams, Teo Redding, and Tyler Palka.
It’s unknown what Sumlin’s status means for him in the USFL. It would be hard to believe that he would coach both teams, but nothing has been reported yet on whether he stays on or if Houston will have a new head coach. Should he leave, it’s the fourth head coach to leave the league this offseason. Gamblers fans will have to wait and see how this will be played out.