The time to be patient with Jimbo Fisher is over, Texas A&M needs to win now
By Dante Pryor
The time to be patient with Jimbo Fisher is over. Texas A&M football needs to win now and win big.
There is an old maxim, “Be careful what you wish for; you just might get it.” Jimbo Fisher wanted out of Florida State when he signed a 10-year, $75 million contract to replace Kevin Sumlin as head coach of the Texas A&M Aggies. Fisher won the last BCS National Championship in 2013 and played in the first College Football Playoff in 2014.
Despite tensions between Fisher and Florida State booster president Andy Miller, facility upgrades were on the way in Tallahassee. Fisher fought were more money for his assistants and got it. Yet, what Florida State had done was not enough. Fisher did flirt with Texas in 2013 and LSU in 2016, so maybe the Seminoles were not the problem. The former “coach in waiting” found a program with unlimited resources in College Station.
It is now year three of the Jimbo Fisher experience at Texas A&M, and it is time for both Fisher and the program to turn the corner. If facilities and finances were the issues at Florida State, now it is the time to prove that true. Fisher has had two years to recruit, hire coaches and have nearly limitless resources. This season those things must turn into wins.
Why the Aggies wanted Jimbo Fisher
Texas A&M did what few programs before did; the Aggies convinced a sitting Power 5 coach with a National Championship to build another program. Nick Saban left LSU to coach in the NFL, Mack Brown came out of retirement to coach North Carolina and Urban Meyer sat out a year before going to Ohio State.
Jimbo had won 10 or more games five consecutive years before 2017 and had two National Titles. Fisher was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Les Miles in 2003 when LSU won their National Championship. Texas A&M has not won 10 games in consecutive seasons since the R.C. Slocum era during their Southwest Conference days. The Aggies have not won a National Title since 1939.
During Fisher’s time at LSU, he gained the reputation of being a “quarterback whisperer.” He developed a number 1 overall pick in JaMarcus Russell. In addition to Russell, Fisher coached Rohan Davey and Matt Mauck, both of whom also played in the NFL. While at Florida State, Fisher coached and developed 1st-round picks EJ Manuel and Christian Ponder and another number one overall pick in Jameis Winston.
Jimbo Fisher is one of the best recruiters in college coaching today. While at Florida State, Fisher signed a top-10 class in all but two seasons. Fisher is proving his recruiting acumen in College Station already. The Aggies have hauled in two top-10 classes — 2019 and 2020 — in three cycles.
It is easy to see why Fisher was so attractive to a program perpetually mired in mediocrity. The Aggies want to be better and think Fisher is the solution to winning in the ultra-competitive SEC.
Fisher has something to prove.
How does a coach who has won a National Championship have something to prove? Fisher’s career could be split into two distinct eras, “With Jameis and Without Jameis.” Florida State was 27-1 the two seasons Jameis Winston was the quarterback at Florida State. That included the final BCS Championship game, a National Semifinal appearance and a Heisman Trophy.
In the three seasons after Jameis Winston, Florida State was 25-12, including the disastrous 5-6 2017 in which Fisher was not around to coach their make-up game. DeAndre Francois did not develop into the quarterback he was recruited to become. The offensive line was atrocious, and the offense was never anywhere as potent as they were in 2013 when they scored over 51 points per game. The Seminoles went from elite to good. Fisher needs to prove he can both build and maintain an elite program.
So far at Texas A&M, the Aggies are 17-9 under Fisher. They’ve been good. The Aggie boosters, however, did not pay for “really good.” They paid $75 million for Championships, not the Gator Bowl and the Texas Bowl. Fisher has had two seasons to recruit and hire the staff he wants. The Aggies hauled in the no. 13, no. 4 and no. 6 recruiting classes since Fisher left FSU. Fisher has the control and resources that Florida State allegedly was not willing to give.
This season, Fisher needs to win ten games and beat either LSU or Alabama. If he does not, that expensive chair in his office will feel just a bit warm.