| R. C. Slocum | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Sport | Football | |
| Born | November 7, 1944 | |
| Place of birth |  Oakdale, LA |
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| Career highlights | ||
| Overall | 123-47-2 | |
| Bowls | 3-8 | |
| Coaching stats | ||
| College Football DataWarehouse | ||
| Championships | ||
| Big 12 Championship (1998) Big 12 South Division Championship (1997, 1998) Southwest Conference Championship (1991, 1992, 1993) |
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| Playing career | ||
| 1965-1967 | McNeese State | |
| Position | TE | |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | ||
| 1968-1969 1970-1971 1972-1980 1981 1982-1988 1989-2002 |
Lake Charles HS (DC) Kansas State (asst.) Texas A&M (asst.) USC (DC) Texas A&M (DC) Texas A&M |
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Richard Copeland Slocum (born November 7, 1944),[1] better known as R. C. Slocum, was the head football coach at Texas A&M University from 1989 until 2002. He is the winningest coach in Texas A&M football history (123 wins) and the second-losingest (47 losses, after Homer H. Norton).
Contents |
Personal
Raised in Orange, Texas, Slocum attended McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He has two sons, Shawn and John Harvey. Shawn served as an assistant on Slocum's staff and is now an assistant coach for the Green Bay Packers. John Harvey is employed in oil field services.[2]
Personality
Slocum was also known for being a "down-home" kind of man. When on a recruiting trip in Orange, Texas in 1996, he accidentally tracked dog feces into the home of the recruit he was visiting. He got down on his hands and knees to scrub the carpet himself so that it wouldn't stain. The recruit then chose to play for A&M.
Slocum has been a big comfort to his players, and to the school, in times of tragedy. After the 1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse before the game against Texas, many students wondered if the game should even be played. On the night Bonfire would have burned, the school hosted a memorial service. 100,000+ mourners carried white candles to the site of the Bonfire collapse, and then marched together to Kyle Field. Slocum then delivered a touching speech that brought comfort to the mourners and instilled pride in the school. The Aggies' win the following day over Texas was a fitting cap to the week. In 2002, freshman player Brandon Fails died unexpectedly near the end of the season. Again, Slocum stepped up to try to comfort his players.
Post-coaching
After spending 30 of the last 31 years serving Texas A&M, Slocum was not quite ready to leave. He is currently a special advisor to the president of Texas A&M University and works for the Texas A&M Foundation. In 2006, Slocum was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. Presently, he also serves as President of the American Football Coaches Foundation.
R.C. Slocum has also become a close friend of former U.S. President George H.W. Bush, whose Presidential Library is located at Texas A&M. The Bushes often use Slocum's suite to watch Aggie football games, and Slocum and his wife have visited the Bush family at their vacation home in Kennebunkport, Maine.
Coaching career
Early career
Slocum began his career as a football coach at a Lake Charles high school in 1968. Two years later, in 1970, Slocum became a graduate assistant at Kansas State University under head coach Vince Gibson. In 1971, he was named Head Freshman Coach.
University of Southern California
Slocum spent the 1981 season as the defensive coordinator at the University of Southern California. The team was led by head coach John Robinson. Slocum's defense led the Pac-10 in total defense that season.[3] The team lost to Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl, finishing with a 9–3 record.[4]
Texas A&M
In 1972, Slocum was hired as a receiver coach under Emory Bellard at Texas A&M University. After one year of coaching the offensive line, he was promoted to coach the defensive ends, and in 1976, he became linebacker coach. Coach Bellard left A&M in 1978, moving on to Mississippi State and taking defensive coordinator Melvin Robertson with him. Former A&M offensive coordinator and new head coach Tom Wilson chose Slocum as his defensive coordinator in 1979. After serving USC as defensive coordinator in 1981, Slocum returned to A&M in 1982 and became defensive coordinator under head coach Jackie Sherrill. In 1985, Slocum was elevated to assistant head coach. Slocum substitued for Sherrill and served as acting head coach for A&M's 18-0 victory over TCU during the 1988 season.
Head coach
In December 1988, R.C. Slocum was named head coach at Texas A&M. During his 14 years as head coach, R.C. led the Aggies to a record of 123–47–2, making him the winningest coach in Texas A&M history. During his career, Slocum never had a losing season and won four conference championships, including the Big 12 title in 1998. Additionally, he led the Aggies to become the first school in the Southwest Conference history to post three consecutive perfect conference seasons. Slocum reached 100 wins faster than any other active coach. He has the best winning percentage in SWC history, one spot ahead of the legendary coach Darrell Royal who is number 2. Slocum helped make A&M's Kyle Field become one of the hardest places for opponents to play, losing only 12 games at home in 14 years. For over a year, A&M held the longest home-winning streak in the nation, losing in 1989 and not again until late in 1995. In the 1990s, A&M lost only four times at Kyle Field. Slocum was named SWC Coach of the Year three times during his tenure as head coach. His "Wrecking Crew" defense led the SWC in four statistical categories from 1991 through 1993 and led the nation in total defense in 1991.
Over 50 Texas A&M players were drafted into the NFL during Slocum's career as head coach.
Slocum was well known for being unwilling to "bend" the rules. He inherited an Aggie football program under severe NCAA sanctions, and cleaned it up quickly. He was quoted in 2002 as saying:
| “ | I wouldn't trade winning another game or two for my reputation as a person. I've said from day one I'm going to do things the way I think they should be done. There were those who said, `If you don't cheat, you're pretty naive. You can't win that way.' Well, we're going to find out. That's the way we're going to do it. I can walk away and look myself in the mirror and say, 'We did it the right way.'[5] | ” |
The critics of Slocum cited his below .500 bowl record. Slocum went only 3-8 in bowls, and 0-4 in major bowls (The 1999 Sugar Bowl and the 1992, 1993 and 1994 Cotton Bowl Classics, which were then considered major).
Slocum continually pressed Texas A&M to update the athletic facilities so that the university could compete with rivals Texas and Oklahoma in football recruiting. Officials finally listened to his pleas and began a large facility expansion project. Unfortunately, this was too late to save Slocum. He was fired in 2002 after a 6–6 season, which included a win over number-one-ranked Oklahoma. He was succeeded by Dennis Franchione as head coach.
Coaching tree
Several former and current college coaches trace their lineage back to R. C. Slocum on his coaching tree:
- Phil Bennett, A&M defensive coordinator 1995–96, later coached Southern Methodist University
- Bob Davie, A&M defensive coordinator 1989–93, later coached Notre Dame
- Steve Ensminger, A&M offensive coordinator 1994–96, former Auburn tight ends coach
- Mike Hankwitz, A&M defensive coordinator 1997–2002, later coached University of Arizona
- Steve Kragthorpe, A&M quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator 1997–2000, former University of Louisville head coach
- Gary Kubiak, A&M running backs coach 1992–93, current Houston Texans head coach
- Mark F Barnes, A&M Player 1979-1982 LB, Strength and Conditioning Coach 1988-1993 Dallas Cowboys Strength and Conditioning Coach 1994-1995
- Steve Marshall, A&M offensive coordinator 1997, current Cleveland Browns offensive line coach
- Mike Sherman, A&M offensive line coach 1989–93 and 1995–96, current Texas A&M University head coach
- Kevin Sumlin, A&M offensive coordinator 2001–02, current University of Houston head coach
- Bob Toledo, A&M offensive coordinator 1989–93, later coached UCLA and current Tulane University head coach
- Tommy Tuberville, A&M defensive coordinator 1994, former Auburn University head coach
- Alan Weddell, A&M inside linebackers coach 1998–2002, former University of Houston defensive coordinator
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas A&M Aggies (Southwest Conference) (1989–1995) | |||||||||
| 1989 | Texas A&M | 8-4-0 | 6-2-0 | T-2nd | L Sun | – | 20 | ||
| 1990 | Texas A&M | 9-3-1 | 5-2-1 | T-2nd | W Holiday | 13 | 15 | ||
| 1991 | Texas A&M | 10-2-0 | 8-0-0 | 1st | L Cotton | 13 | 12 | ||
| 1992 | Texas A&M | 12-1-0 | 7-0-0 | 1st | L Cotton | 6 | 7 | ||
| 1993 | Texas A&M | 10-2-0 | 7-0-0 | 1st | L Cotton | 8 | 9 | ||
| 1994 | Texas A&M | 10-0-1 | 6-0-1 | * | * | – | 8 | ||
| 1995 | Texas A&M | 9-3-0 | 5-2-0 | T-2nd | W Alamo | 15 | 15 | ||
| Texas A&M: | 68-15-2 | 44-6-2 | |||||||
| Texas A&M Aggies (Big 12 South) (1996–2002) | |||||||||
| 1996 | Texas A&M | 6-6 | 4-4 | 3rd | — | – | – | ||
| 1997 | Texas A&M | 9-4 | 6-2 | 1st | L Cotton | 21 | 20 | ||
| 1998 | Texas A&M | 11-3 | 7-1 | 1st | L Sugar † | 13 | 11 | ||
| 1999 | Texas A&M | 8-4 | 5-3 | T-2nd | L Alamo | 20 | 23 | ||
| 2000 | Texas A&M | 7-5 | 5-3 | 3rd | L Independence | – | – | ||
| 2001 | Texas A&M | 8-4 | 4-4 | T-3rd | W galleryfurniture.com | – | – | ||
| 2002 | Texas A&M | 6-6 | 3-5 | 5th | — | – | – | ||
| Texas A&M: | 55-32 | 34-22 | |||||||
| Total: | 123-47-2 | ||||||||
| National Championship Conference Title Conference Division Title | |||||||||
| †Indicates BCS bowl game. #Rankings from final Coaches Poll. °Rankings from final AP Poll. * A&M was ineligible. |
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See also
References
- ^ "R.C. Slocum". Scout.com. http://syracuse.scout.com/a.z?s=185&p=8&c=1&nid=404341. Retrieved 2007-10-16.
- ^ Maisel, Ivan (2002-11-25). "Slocum under fire, but not feeling the heat". ESPN.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=1467806&type=columnist. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
- ^ "2007 Pac-10 Football Guide Records". http://www.pac-10.org/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/pac10/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/release1-Records.
- ^ "USC 1981". http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/coaching/alltime_coach_game_by_game.php?coachid=2002&year=1981.
- ^ Justice, Richard (2002-12-03). "Legacy of tenure at A&M is reform". Houston Chronicle. http://www.pngindians.com/news/2002/slocumfired.html. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
| Preceded by Jackie Sherrill |
Texas A&M University Head Football Coach 1989–2002 |
Succeeded by Dennis Franchione |
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