After becoming the winningest coach in Aggie football history, R.C. Slocum has spent his days on the sideline, supporting his son Shawn, who happens to be the special teams coordinator for Arizona State.
With 123 victories and four conference championships, R.C. Slocum cemented the vaunted “Wrecking Crew” into Aggie lore. He was hired in 1972 as an assistant coach and served as the head coach from 1989-2002. With an overall record of 123-47-2, he led the Aggies to arguably the best decade in program history during the 1990s. From the span of 1991-1997, A&M went 94-28-2. The 94 wins are the most by any Division I Texas football program in any decade.
It has been 17 years since the Aggies garnered a conference title. Now, in 2015, A&M is in a hunt to end that streak, beginning Saturday afternoon with Arizona State. Slocum recruited current Sun Devil head coach Todd Graham to coach at summer camps during Graham’s days at Allen High School.
On Saturday, Slocum said he believes the biggest challenge A&M will face is not the Sun Devil’s potent offense, but instead the ASU defense.
“I’ve known [ASU Head Coach Todd Graham] a long time, and his background is as a defensive coach … to me, my biggest concern is their defense,” R.C. Slocum said. “They have a style much like what we had when I was coaching — a pressing, attacking style of defense. That’s what they are known for.”
Over the years R.C. Slocum has watched his son follow in his footsteps as a football coach.
“I take great pride in that,” R.C. Slocum said. “I really enjoyed watching him develop. He got a degree in construction science and had a good job out of college. He came to me early on and said, ‘I know I can do this, but what I really want to do is coach football.’ Seeing him progress … he’s had a good career, and I’m proud of him.”
Shawn Slocum coached All-Americans Shane Lechler and Dat Nguyen while at A&M and coached other great linebackers including former Ole Miss and 49ers star Patrick Willis. He also was an assistant coach and special teams coordinator in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers from 2006-2014 and was part of the team that won Super Bowl XLV. On Saturday, the former student will coach against his alma mater and his dad’s former ball club.
Slocum said A&M and Arizona State are closely matched so winning will require an all-around effort.
“I think it’s going to take both sides of the ball and the kicking game to win,” R.C. Slocum said. “These are two closely-matched teams. Arizona State takes great pride in putting up points on the board. For A&M to win, they’re going to have to do the same thing … Both teams are prolific on offense. Both are going to have to be good on defense. That’s why I am so excited to see Coach Chavis and to see how much progress he’s been able to make in a short time … I really anticipate that his influence is going to be obvious on our defense.”
R.C. Slocum said he is proud of his son but will root for the Aggies come game time at 6 p.m. on Saturday night in Houston.
“I’ve been pulling for the Aggies since I was in junior high school,” R.C. Slocum said. “I coached 30 seasons here pulling for the Aggies … I’ve got a whole bunch of family that are Aggies, and there won’t be any doubt about who I’m pulling for in the game.”
