COLLEGE STATION — A prominent name surfaced late Thursday as a potential candidate in Texas A&M's search for a football coach: Georgia's Mark Richt.

An A&M insider said Richt is in the mix to possibly replace Mike Sherman, who was fired last week after four seasons and a 25-25 record. And Richt certainly fits the bill of someone who knows the Southeastern Conference — the Aggies' destination next season — inside and out.

Richt, 51, is in his 11th season with the Bulldogs, and won SEC championships in 2002 and '05. The insider said should the Aggies hire Richt, Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart likely would then head home to Georgia, where he played for the Bulldogs.

The presumed leader in the A&M coaching sweepstakes since Sherman's firing has been Houston coach Kevin Sumlin, who's guided the Cougars to 12-1 so far this season, with a date against Penn State to come in the TicketCity Bowl on Jan. 2 in Dallas.

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Sumlin, Southern Mississippi's Larry Fedora (expected to be announced as North Carolina's new coach today), Smart and Air Force coach Troy Calhoun all have been considered for the job, according to insiders.

Georgia (10-3) will face Michigan State in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 2. The Bulldogs won 10 consecutive games before falling to top-ranked LSU 42-10 in the SEC title game last Saturday. Georgia was 6-7 last season, and Richt entered the year on the coaching hot seat.

After Sherman's abrupt firing, A&M insiders said they intended to work fast to name a candidate, in part to help keep a solid 2012 recruiting class that Sherman had assembled intact. Earlier this week, one official said a press conference to announce a new coach by today was a strong possibility.

Aggies athletic director Bill Byrne returned from New York on Thursday — where National Football Foundation activities were held and where he conducted interviews — to meet with various A&M brass and discuss the new hire.

Meanwhile interim coach and defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter was in Houston on Thursday along with Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald to discuss the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas on New Year's Eve at Reliant Stadium. Both teams are 6-6. DeRuyter said the Aggies love playing 90 miles from their campus — in the nation's fourth largest city.

“Houston is probably our No. 1 recruiting territory with its proximity to College Station,” DeRuyter said. “With the talent of the players and the (high school) coaches that are here, it's probably second to nowhere in the country. If we're not going to get a chance to play in that (national title) game in New Orleans, this is a great consolation prize for our players.”

It's also the site of A&M's last bowl victory. Ten years ago the Aggies defeated TCU 28-9 in the GalleryFurniture.com Bowl in the Astrodome. Now, they'll try and end a crazy season — when they blew five large leads — on a high note.

“It's kind of ironic that we're the home team,” Wildcats coach Pat Fitzgerald said, jokingly adding, “Over 60,000 fans have already purchased tickets, and about 55,000 are Northwestern fans. So it will be a great home atmosphere here in Houston.”

DeRuyter will focus on the defense, of course, while offensive line coach Jim Turner will call the plays on offense. Sherman had served as the Aggies' offensive coordinator.

“Our players feel like nothing has changed from the preseason,” DeRuyter said of the team's high expectations. “We've said we have the ability to play with anybody in the country.”