Kevin Sumlin is back on the sideline, this time in the UFL.
The Dallas Renegades announced Wednesday that they have hired the 62-year-old as their new head coach, bringing in a coach who spent more than a decade building a college résumé that included a 95-63 record from 2008-20. Sumlin was away from football entirely in 2025 after two seasons as the University of Maryland’s associate head coach.
Sumlin’s name still carries plenty of weight from his college run. He started his head coaching career at Houston in 2008 and helped develop Case Keenum, who finished his Cougar career as the NCAA’s all-time leading passer. Sumlin went 35-17 at Houston before moving on to Texas A&M.
His first year in College Station was a jolt. Sumlin brought in Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel and guided the Aggies to an 11-2 record in their first season in the SEC. That stretch also included Texas A&M’s 2013 Cotton Bowl victory over the Oklahoma Sooners.
The results after that weren’t nearly as strong. Texas A&M finished 9-5 or 8-5 in each of Sumlin’s next four seasons, and he was fired in 2017 after a 7-5 campaign. He left the Aggies with a 51-26 record.
Sumlin’s next stop was Arizona, where he went 9-20 as the Wildcats’ head coach. His last head-coaching job came in 2022 with the UFL’s Houston Gamblers, where he went 3-7.
The Renegades made the hire official with a post that read: "Kevin Sumlin named Head Coach of the Dallas Renegades.
Welcome home, Coach! pic.twitter.com/C3j6k0Hmym"
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Arizona State Faces An Early Test That Could Define This Offense
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