Jimbo Fisher rumors: 3 intriguing destinations for former Texas A&M coach
By David Wasson
Published:
When last we even thought a blip about the travails of John James “Jimbo” Fisher Jr., it was likely to contemplate just how he would go about spending the massive $76 million buyout he received after being relieved of his services by Texas A&M.
Yachts, private island getaways, exotic golf junkets, etc. Pretty much anything but trying to coach college football, right?
As it turns out, a $76 million getaway check apparently doesn’t buy as much worry-free life as it used to… because Fisher wants another shot at coaching college football. You heard that right: Jimbo misses us and wants to come back for more!
Fisher, who not only won a national title at Florida State but got the Aggies to fork over $95 million while he was in College Station, told the “Trials to Triumph” podcast last week that he seeks “the right situation” to get back into coaching at the college level.
“I’m 59, in great shape and healthy. I’ve had success everywhere we’ve ever been,” Fisher said on the podcast. “The end at Texas A&M, it’s unfortunate, but we also had the highest-ranked team they ever had there in 2020. Our quarterbacks got hurt. We played with first-team, third-team. … It was hard to get playcalling and guys around. … Didn’t pan out like we needed to, but I still love it.”
Curious use of “I” and “we” aside there, Fisher wanting a return to the college sideline made us wonder – much in the same vein that we openly wondered about a potential Jon Gruden coaching move over the weekend – about what kind of fit would be best for the 59-year-old coaching veteran.
Where does a man a 128-48 career coaching record and well over $120 million in coaching earnings go next? What destination has the correct blend of cash on hand and a willingness to let go of their current guy – because just as Jimbo isn’t a fit for every school, every school isn’t a fit for Jimbo?
Here are 3 intriguing potential options for a Lazarus-like return to coaching for Jimbo Fisher…
1. Michigan State
Quick, who is the head coach of the Spartans?
Exactly. Distant members of Jonathan Smith’s own family probably could use a reminder that he prowls the sidelines in East Lansing – and last season’s 5-7 finish in Year 1 didn’t exactly endear him to Sparty Nation.
The little brother in the Wolverine State to the maize-and-blue bunch in Ann Arbor, Michigan State prides itself both on its basketball excellence under Tom Izzo and its quickly-receding-in-the-rearview-mirror football greatness. This is a program that nurtured greats like Carl Banks, Bubba Smith and Lorenzo White – but hasn’t developed anything other than a reputation as a persistent speed bump to Big Ten powers like Michigan and Ohio State.
Smith was brought in after a 5-year stint at Oregon State to right the ship in the wake of the turbulent Mel Tucker firing. But with maiden conference wins against just Maryland, Iowa, Purdue… Spartan fans expect much more. And come Dec. 2, Smith’s buyout goes from $3 million to $2 million – chump change when you want to enter the Jimbo Sweepstakes.
2. Alabama
Point of clarification time: I am not endorsing the notion that Kalen DeBoer will exit Tuscaloosa in the same fashion I did with Hugh Freeze at Auburn. That said, you better believe DeBoer understands his spot with the Crimson Tide is less than carved in granite and cast in bronze like his predecessor.
Would Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne possibly pull the trigger on DeBoer after another less-than-spectacular Crimson Tide season in 2025? How many losses would that look like, exactly, before Jimbo Fisher becomes an actual option?
One school of thought is that Alabama fans – which I once pointed out would be unhappy if the Tide won 50-0 shutouts over every team in a season yet allowed a throwaway late touchdown in a 49-7 national title victory – simply will turn on DeBoer in much the same fashion Ron Zook became Gator non grata at Florida (minus a FireKalenDeboer.com website…) The current state of college football, in which any team that loses any game unearths thousands of whiny fans, means even a coach like DeBoer who just missed the College Football Playoff last year is theoretically in line for a firing.
Plus, Alabama likely is one of the few teams in the SEC that currently has deep enough pockets to send DeBoer and his assistants to then start over with Fisher. Will it happen? Likely no. But it could…
3. Oklahoma State
Ah ha, now it gets interesting. It has felt like Mike Gundy has almost been fired from Stillwater more times than he deserves, but he still somehow dances between the raindrops as the preferred coach of late mega-donor T. Boone Pickens.
Entering his 21st season with the Cowboys, Gundy is the longest-tenured coach in the Big 12 and is tied with Utah’s Kyle Wittingham as the second-longest tenured coach at one school in FBS. Gundy has somehow survived his 2007 “I’m a man, I’m 40!” rant, allegations that he paid players in 2013, and the 2020 One America News incident that almost saw him lose star running back Chuba Hubbard.
But even the man with the Million Dollar Mullet only gets so many second chances. After a 3-9 season in 2024, it would appear to the outside world that Gundy’s final second chance is now at Oklahoma State. Would Fisher’s offensive stylings fit in with the Cowboys? Perhaps, and he would certainly be a welcome addition to the annual Bedlam matchup against Oklahoma.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
