Texas A&M vs. Arkansas: Will Mike Sherman or Bobby Petrino Be Around Longer?

For the third year in a row, Texas A&M and Arkansas, two top-ranked teams reeling after tough losses last week, will face off in Cowboys Stadium.

With two high-powered offensive attacks going at it, the game has all the makings of a shootout.

Arkansas has come out on top the last two years, but it looks like A&M holds the advantage this time around.

The matchup is a renewal of an old Southwest Conference rivalry and a future SEC West rivalry.

Both head coaches, Texas A&M’s Mike Sherman and Arkansas’ Bobby Petrino, have built their programs into consistent contenders, but now that they’ll both be in the SEC, they’ll have to fight it out for supremacy on an annual basis.

So which coach will survive the longest?

Mike Sherman

Mike Sherman didn’t exactly get off on the greatest foot with the Texas A&M fan base, losing his first game at Kyle Field to Arkansas State and subsequently finishing his first season with a 4-8 record.

He’s managed to right the ship since then and build the Aggies into one of the strongest teams in the southwest.

After a 9-4 season and a berth in the Cotton Bowl last year, A&M entered 2011 with a Top 10 ranking and expectations of competing for a Big 12 championship.

A home loss to Oklahoma State was a tough setback, but the Aggies are still in the hunt for a conference championship.

After this year, Sherman will guide the Aggies into SEC waters, and it will be interesting to see how he and his team fare early on against stiffer competition.

Bobby Petrino

Bobby Petrino didn’t arrive in Fayetteville on the best terms, after abandoning his job with the Atlanta Falcons with three games to play in the season.

After going 5-7 in his first year, Petrino quickly started improving once he got star gunslinger quarterback Ryan Mallett to transfer from Michigan to Arkansas. 

It culminated with a 10-3 season and a berth in the Sugar Bowl last season.

Now Petrino has the Razorbacks primed to be an annual contender for the West division title.

Who Will Last Longer?

Neither of these coaches is on a particularly short leash, and it will definitely be fun to watch them go at it in the West Division over the next few years, but if I had to put my stock into the coach who I think will be around longer, I would go with Petrino just because he’s six years younger.

Even though I have my reservations in putting my trust in a coach who has shown that he has no problems running away like a coward when things get tough, I have a feeling that Arkansas will be the better team in the near future.