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Texas A&M football: 5 replacements for Jimbo Fisher if he leaves for LSU

By Ethan Lee

COLLEGE STATION, TX - NOVEMBER 24: Head coach Jimbo Fisher of the Texas A&M Aggies attempts to get the attention of the official at Kyle Field on November 24, 2018 in College Station, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
COLLEGE STATION, TX - NOVEMBER 24: Head coach Jimbo Fisher of the Texas A&M Aggies attempts to get the attention of the official at Kyle Field on November 24, 2018 in College Station, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /
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SAN MARCOS, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 05: Head coach Sonny Dykes of the Southern Methodist Mustangs leads the team on to the field before the game against the Texas State Bobcats at Bobcat Stadium on September 05, 2020 in San Marcos, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
SAN MARCOS, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 05: Head coach Sonny Dykes of the Southern Methodist Mustangs leads the team on to the field before the game against the Texas State Bobcats at Bobcat Stadium on September 05, 2020 in San Marcos, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

3. Could Sonny Dykes succeed somewhere other than SMU?

The SMU Mustangs aren’t exactly known for winning on the football field. Historically, this program is known for winning and then getting hammered by the NCAA in a way that essentially kept the program from succeeding for decades. That said, Sonny Dykes has been able to find wins with SMU.

And that’s why Texas A&M should look his way if Fisher ends up elsewhere.

Dykes, a native of Big Spring, Texas and the son of former longtime Texas Tech head coach Spike Dykes, has actually been incredibly impressive as the head coach of the Mustangs.

He got his head coaching start at Louisiana Tech, designed an impressive Air Raid-inspired offense that caught California’s attention, and then moved out west in 2013. Unfortunately for Dykes, he didn’t seem to fit the job and wasn’t able to thrive out west and was eventually let go in 2016.

Following the 2017 season, Dykes was picked up by SMU and he’s rewarded the Mustang faithful by turning their team around.

Since getting hired by SMU, Dykes has been able to lead the Mustangs to a 28-13 record. During that time, SMU’s offense has been incredibly fun to keep up with and has attracted transfer players to come in and help this team continue on winning.

Through six games this season, SMU is averaging 513.0 yards per game and 40.7 points per game. In 2020, when SMU went 7-3, the Mustangs averaged 494.5 yards per game and 38.6 points per game. The Mustangs were averaging 489.8 yards per game and 41.8 points per game back in 2019 when they went 10-3.

Questions should surround Dykes’ ability to win at a larger school in a tougher conference, but he wouldn’t be an odd cultural fit in College Station. Questions should also be brought up about Dykes’ ability to get a good defensive coordinator in place because you can’t just win with offense in the SEC.

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