By Emily McLaughlin
Jimbo Fisher was fired from Texas A&M after six seasons. There have been some potential replacements for Fisher’s place. Athletic director Ross Bjork explained what the Aggies seek in their new replacement.
ESPN said, “They’re looking for a coach who’s open to change, adaptable, organized, easy to work with, has a creative offense, and is more of a CEO type than someone who’s in the film room all night.”
Getting hired in 2018, Fisher reported to have an 83-23 record with BCS championships at Florida State. With his success at Texas A&M, Fisher won his first three seasons, concurring a 10-year contract in 2021 with a $95 million deal.
On November 12, Fisher was fired with his continued $76 million fully guaranteed contract. Not keeping up with college football trends caused a ranking of 101st nationally in scoring during a 5-7 season in 2022.
In the Los Angeles Times, “Fisher was fired even though the school must pay him that staggering $77.5 million buyout, dwarfing the previous record buyout of $21.7 million paid in 2020 to former Auburn coach Gus Malzahn.”
While there were many high points throughout Fisher’s leading seasons, there were many low points. They had five seasons with four or more losses including the 2022 campaign. Losing the six-game winning streak and the program’s first loss since 2009, with the addition of a loss at home to Appalachian State.
Bjork said in an ESPN article, “There was something just not clicking to provide confidence for everyone in the program, you have to adapt, you have to evolve. I’m not going to say whether he did or didn’t, but it didn’t work.”
Bjork has set targets for who he feels could track player development and be a good recruiter. Mike Elko and Lane Kiffin are two of the head coach candidates who are considered to take Fisher’s place. GigEm247’s Texas A&M insiders are providing updates throughout the process.
Jeff Tarpley, covering the team for 25 years, has deep-rooted ties around and inside the A&M community. Reporting unfiltered behind-the-scenes talks that led Texas A&M to let go of head coach Fisher.
Elko, the head coach at Duke, worked his way up the ranks in his 25-year coaching career. Beginning in the same college station as Fisher, he saw the defense team’s progress improve each year as he was coordinator. After ranking third nationally, Elko got his first head coaching job in 2022 with the Blue Devils.
With Elko’s significant progress in leading the Dukes to win nine games last year, including the Bowl win. CBS Sports said, “That was the program’s most since 2013, and Elko helped the Blue Devils reach as high as No. 16 in this year’s AP Poll, their highest since 1971.”
Kiffin is another potential pick in the new coaching position. Boasting a 31-15 record at Ole Mis and the Rebels, Kiffin has proven to be able to land big names into the transfer portal.
CBS Sports said, “Kiffin could be a new energy to a program that’s been missing something since Johnny Manziel left College Station. Kiffin and the Rebels feature an explosive offense and are averaging 36.6 points per game, which ranks 17th in the nation. Kiffin would certainly be an eye-raising hire for the Aggies.”