Jimbo Fisher fired at Texas A&M | Who’s next for the Aggies? | Michigan, Jim Harbaugh update | 11.12.23
THE Texas A&M The athletic department decided to do what had been said for some time on Sunday morning. They fired their head football coach Jimbo Fisherand they will be responsible for his monstrous buyout – which costs a record amount north of $77 million.
On Sunday, Aggies athletic director Ross Bjork held a press conference to discuss the decision in depth.
Ross Bjork on the reasons for the firing and whether or not Oklahoma and Texas’ arrival in the SEC played a role
With Oklahoma And Texas Coming to the SEC in the fall of 2024, one of the reporters at the press conference wanted to know if this played a role in Jimbo Fisher’s firing.
“This is how I saw it. Everything has an impact on next year. But as we sit here, we finish the season hopefully strong. The transfer portal comes and goes. Signing day. A game of bowls. Maybe we’ll hire new assistant coaches and make those kinds of changes,” Bjork began.
“I did not have confidence in this plan, which would then have had an impact on the 2024 season. So this is not about SEC transition. It’s about can we get through the next eight weeks and have the right plan and be successful in this environment? Building for (2024)? I didn’t see a path leading to 2024,” Björk said.
The Aggies will have to pay a record $77 million plus buyout to Fisher on the way out after starting the season 6-4. Previously, Gus Malzahn held the record buyout paid to a college coach at $21.45 million per Auburn. For reference, last season, 15 schools collectively paid $72 million to buy out their coaches’ respective contracts.
Fisher arrived in College Station in 2018 after an impressive tenure at State of Florida and was to bring the Aggies back to the national spotlight. After all, he had a championship under his belt after leading the Seminoles to a national title in 2013 – but never reached the same heights with Texas A&M.
In just under six years as head coach, Fisher coached the Aggies to a 45-25 record, including a 27-21 SEC record during that span. Compare that to former Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin, who finished his six-year tenure in College Station with a 51-26 record, but was far behind Fisher’s SEC record of 15-17 in conference.
The timing of Fisher’s release is interesting because the news comes as his Aggies are defeated. Mississippi State 51-10 in what is arguably Texas A&M’s best win of the season — it even made them bowl eligible for the first time since 2021. But that’s the problem.
Texas A&M had incredibly high hopes for Fisher in College Station. Besides finishing the COVID-shortened season 9-1 and finishing No. 5 in the final College Football Playoff rankings, the Aggies never achieved major accolades under the former head coach.
It’s unclear whether Fisher’s firing will have a lasting impact on the Aggies’ upcoming 2024 recruiting class, which ranks No. 7 nationally, according to On3 Team Recruiting Rankings. However, the transfer portal is another topic.
The writing on the wall for Fisher’s departure began last season when Texas A&M was upset at home against Appalachian State 17-14. Despite being ranked No. 6 in the preseason poll just two weeks before the loss, the Aggies would finish the season 5-7 just two years out of a near CFP spot.
Despite his team improving from last season to 6-4 in 10 games, it remains below the standard Texas A&M expected of Fisher when they hired him in 2018.
As the Aggies look to move on from the Jimbo Fisher era, they have one more game to play this week against Abilene Christian before finishing their regular season with a road trip to LSU.
Kickoff is scheduled for noon ET live on ESPN+.
Barkley Truax from On3 also contributed to this article.
