Kevin Sumlin is back in football. And back in Houston.
The former Arizona head coach will lead the Houston Gamblers of the revamped USFL, according to ESPN's Cole Cubelic.
Houston is one of eight teams in the USFL, a professional football league set to launch in April with games shown on Fox, FS1, NBC, Peacock and USA Network.Β
Sumlin takes over the Gamblers, who share the same division with Birmingham Stallions, New Orleans Breakers and Tampa Bay Bandits. Former Auburn head coach Gene Chizik will coach Birmingham, while longtime NFL coach Todd Haley will lead Tampa Bay; Bart Andrus will take over New Orleans.Β
This will be Sumlin's third coaching stint in East Texas. He went 35-17 at the University of Houston, then coached six seasons at Texas A&M in nearby College Station, posting a 51-26 record.
Texas A&M fired Sumlin following the 2017 season; he was then hired by Arizona to succeed the dismissed Rich Rodriguez.Β
In three seasons at the UA, Sumlin went 9-20. The Wildcats went winless in a pandemic-affected 2020 season that was capped by a 70-7 loss to rival Arizona State. Sumlin was fired the following day and paid a $7.5 million buyout.
Sumlin has spent the past year living in Tucson, and his youngest son, Joey, was a standout linebacker for Salpointe Catholic High School this fall. Sumlin's older son, Jackson, is a walk-on tight end at Oklahoma.
