Texas A&M Fires Defensive Coordinator Mark Snyder: Latest Details and Analysis

On the heels of Texas A&M's 23-17 loss to LSU in the regular season finale for both teams, Aggies defensive coordinator Mark Snyder has been fired. 

According to ESPN's Brett McMurphy, Texas A&M announced that Snyder was relieved of his duties on Friday evening. 

Snyder has been part of Kevin Sumlin's staff since 2012. His defenses have always struggled to support otherwise strong offensive units in three years at Texas A&M. That was never more evident than this season, when the Aggies were trying to break in a new quarterback with Johnny Manziel going to the NFL. 

Here is how Texas A&M's defense currently ranks in the four major categories, via StatMilk:

As for potential replacements, Bleacher Report's Lead SEC Writer Barrett Sallee does note that the immediate expectation shouldn't be for Texas A&M to land soon-to-be-former Florida head coach Will Muschamp:

Sumlin has a reputation as an offensive-minded head coach, going back to his days at Houston when the team led the nation in total offense and scoring in 2011. The Aggies will need a strong defensive-minded coordinator who can recruit and coach in order to avoid another disappointing season next year. 

Muschamp certainly should be on the short list of candidates given the success he's had building Florida's defense and dating back to his time as defensive coordinator at Texas. He's going to have his choice of jobs, so Texas A&M will have to fight hard if it hopes to entice him.