‘I blame myself. We have to prepare them better.’ Jimbo Fisher takes full responsibility for the Aggies’ shortfalls vs. Alabama
On Monday, just two days after Texas A&M’s disappointing 26-20 home loss to Alabama, head coach Jimbo Fisher spoke to the media for his annual weekly press conference. While describing several decisions contributing to the Aggie’s shortcomings, Fisher had no one to blame but himself.
“Very hard-fought game on Saturday. Plenty of opportunities for us to be successful. We need to play with a little more consistency… In the coaching department, we need to get them where we can do it consistently without letting up.”
For some outside of the Texas A&M media sphere, the narrative surrounding Fisher’s use of coaching “scapegoats” was once again reignited this offseason, focusing on his relationship with new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino.
Unsurprisingly, many predicted that Fisher would throw him under the bus if the Aggies offense struggled under Petrino’s newly held play-calling duties while escaping any blame. After Saturday’s results, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“I blame myself. We have to prepare them better. As long as there is love and caring for each other, you’re going to come back and play hard and do what you have to do.”
After leading 17-10 at the half, Fisher’s questionable game management decisions on several third and fourth down opportunities showed a coach opting to take the conservative route against a team that could only be defeated when chances are taken in the heat of competition, as his choice to take a timeout before kicking a field goal in the fourth quarter to bring the Aggies within six points raised eyebrows.
“We might have saved six seconds, but I wanted to ensure we got the field goal scored.”
While this sounds like a good choice on paper, the Aggies were at 4th & goal after quarterback Max Johnson hit his brother, tight end Jake Johnson, for a 13-yard gain to Alabama’s 2-yard line with 2:58 remaining, and if a quick play was run to catch the defense off guard and save all three timeouts after the potential touchdown, we may have been looking at a different outcome with an erupting Kyle Field aiding the defense for one more stop to get the offense in field goal range.
Nonetheless, Fisher didn’t trust kicker Randy Bond after his previously blocked field goal from distance, resulting in a call that led to the Tide effortlessly bleeding the clock to zero. Turning the page from what is by far the most challenging loss of the season for a team still in the thick of the division race might be challenging, but this is simply life in the SEC.
Still, with the critical road trip to face the Tennessee Volunteers this Saturday afternoon quickly approaching, Fisher and his resilient squad must treat this like a National Title matchup. And Jimbo, it’s time to take some chances if a win is in your future.
Texas A&M will travel to face the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday, Oct. 14, at 2:30 p.m. CT, inside Neyland Stadium (TV: CBS).
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