Paul Finebaum has throughout his career developed rankings based on how the SEC head coaches stack up in terms of talent and success, but also pressure.

During his regular appearance on WJOX and the “McElroy and Cubelic In the Morning” show out of Birmingham, Alabama, Finebaum quickly referred to Jimbo Fisher and Texas A&M as the coach in the most prove-it year across the SEC.

“I think you start at the top, in the top 10 with Jimbo Fisher. “I just can’t short-sell the importance of Jimbo Fisher having a big season. I know I’m not trying to make a headline here, but Jimbo Fisher knows that as well. If he has another 8-3 season, or even a 9-4 season, people are going to start asking the question, what did we spend all that money on.

Finebaum said Fisher can only hang his hat so long on what happened 2 years ago during the pandemic.

“We all know that, but we all know what happened last year as well,” Finebaum said. “We all know they didn’t play the bowl game, we also know they had the No. 1 recruiting class on top of beating Alabama, so it’s a very mixed bag and the one thing he needs to avoid is a sloppy start. I’m not even talking about Oct. 8, you guys know the schedule, they have a couple of tricky games before then, Miami and Arkansas.”

Considering what Texas A&M has at the end of the season, Finebaum said Fisher doesn’t want to have 2 losses on the morning of Oct. 9.