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FSU’s Jimbo Fisher admits has received interest from the NFL

By Josh Criswell

Oct 30, 2014; Louisville, KY, USA; Florida State Seminoles head coach Jimbo Fisher prior to the game against the Louisville Cardinals at Papa John
Oct 30, 2014; Louisville, KY, USA; Florida State Seminoles head coach Jimbo Fisher prior to the game against the Louisville Cardinals at Papa John /
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After an emerging trend of college head coaches successfully making the jump from college to the pros, Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher appears to be the new hot name appearing in NFL head coaching searches.

Jimbo Fisher may have signed an eight-year contract extension in December, but that has not caused NFL teams to shy away from considering him as a potential head coaching prospect. During an appearance Tuesday on Pro Football Talk Live, Fisher admitted that  at least one team has reached out to the Florida State head coach recently about possible interest in making the jump from college to the pros.

It is no surprise that a team is interested Fisher. After all, he led the Seminoles to the 2014 BCS National Championship and had won 29 consecutive games before losing 59-20 to the Oregon Ducks in the semifinals of the inaugural College Football Playoff this year.

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In addition to his recent success, Fisher runs a pro-style offense, much like the Seattle Seahawks’ Pete Carroll did at USC. Carroll is the most obvious example of college coaches recently making a successful jump to the pros, as he has won a Super Bowl and appeared in another over the course of the past two seasons. Chip Kelly, who joined the Philadelphia Eagles in 2013 after a very successful tenure at the University of Oregon, is another coach to experience a fairly seamless transition to the NFL. Kelly inherited an Eagles team that went 4-12 in 2012, turning them around immediately into a 10-6 NFC East division champion the next year.

Fisher is in a tough spot. On one hand, he has already laid the groundwork for what has potential to become a legendary college coaching career. On the other, he has an opportunity to excel on an even bigger stage.

For his own sake, I hope that Fisher makes the jump sooner rather than later. For one, it will be hard to repeat the success he has had the last two seasons. Even more important, however, is his age. At 49-years old, Fisher has the opportunity to go pro and still have college football to fall back on if it does not work out.

Some may point to the fact that Nick Saban, whom Fisher coached under at LSU, had a notably unsuccessful run at the pros. In contrast, I believe watching Saban go from rising star among college coaches at LSU, to a failure in the NFL to college football legend at Alabama will have a much more profound impact in swaying Fisher to leave the collegiate ranks.

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