With Jimbo Fisher not roaming a sidelines for the first time in decades, the former college football coach commented on his potential future plans on Monday in an interview with ESPN radio.
Fisher told ESPN radio that he plans to watch “a lot of film this year and see if there is the right opportunity for me to get back into it next season.”
Jimbo Fisher was fired during another season where the Texas A&M Aggies failed to meet the lofty expectations, which were mostly set by Fisher’s astronomical contract at 10 years and $75 million, which was fully guaranteed, and unheard of in college football when the deal was signed in 2017.
Jimbo Fisher finishes with a career record of 45-25 at Texas A&M, worse than his predecessor Kevin Sumlin, who finished 51-26 before being fired.
But Fisher did have some good times in College Station. In his first season, he finished 9-4 overall and 5-3 in the SEC, good for second in the SEC West. And in 2020, he went 9-1 overall and 8-1, which was also good for a second place finish in the SEC West.
Jimbo Fisher and Big 12 Schools?
Whether or not Jimbo Fisher would be a fit for any Big 12 school remains to be seen. Right now, coaches with warmer seats in the Big 12 include Baylor’s Dave Aranda, and then there’s a fall off. Cincinnati’s Scott Satterfield might be feeling heat if Cincinnati doesn’t improve from their one-win Big 12 campaign in 2023. Otherwise, there are rebuilds at Arizona State with a second-year head coach in Kenny Dillingham, while Kalani Sitake may start feeling some heat at BYU if things don’t improve, that would take a special coach to fill the role, and it’s unlikely that coach is Jimbo Fisher.
Of course, Fisher is a born and bred West Virginian, but Neal Brown is coming off a nine-win season and there’s reason to believe WVU can compete atop the Big 12 this season.
Fisher’s Offensive Issues
And let’s not forget, Fisher’s reputation is one of a coach who got stuck in the past offensiviely.
His 2022 team, the last year before handing over the offense to Bobby Petrino, ran only 757 plays in 12 games — the ninth-fewest in the sport. His playbook was NFL-style complicated during a time when his competitors were over-simplifying playbooks for their quarterbacks to make quick decisions.
Is Jimbo willing to make the changes necessary to stay relevant in the ever-changing world of college football? We’ll see how he approaches the upcoming season.
If not, $75 million can buy you a lot of great hunting and fishing trips.
