Jimbo Fisher has found himself on yet another coaching hot seat ahead of the 2023 season
It’s never a complete college football offseason without nearly a dozen “coaching hot seat” articles to make their way to your many screens.
Texas A&M Head Coach Jimbo Fisher, who, love him or hate him, is still one of five current FBS coaches to win a National Championship, has reached somewhat of a crisis moment in his Aggie career after finishing 5-7 (2-6 SEC) last season, the worst finish in his coaching career, and first losing season for the Maroon and White in fourteen seasons.
Enter 2023, where, like every year, the expectations are sky high for a Texas A&M squad that isn’t short of talent and proven experience; paired with new OC Bobby Petrino’s offensive acumen, a stark improvement from the dreadful five-win campaign is all fans asking for. However, the improvement I’m referencing isn’t six or seven victories and even an 8-4 finish won’t cleanse most palates with the type of roster the coaching staff is working with.
This all leads to the USA TODAY writer Scooby Axson’s recent article listing the ten current head coaches that sit squarely on the hot seat, Tom Allen (Indiana), Danny Gonzalez (New Mexico), Neal Brown (West Virginia), Butch Jones (Arkansas State), Dino Babers (Syracuse), Mike Bloomington (Rice), Brent Venables (Oklahoma), Eli Drinkwitz (Missouri), Mel Tucker (Michigan State), and last but not least, John “Jimbo” Fisher.
Unsurprisingly, every coach listed failed to find any consistency in 2022, while Venables and the Sooners matched the Aggies at 5-7 but are also poised to bounce back this season in their final year as a member of the Big 12.
For Fisher, the same ole’ story continues to float around the mediasphere, as his $95 million dollar buyout continues to push out a profusion of headline-grabbing articles pushing the narrative that Fisher has basically hamstrung the Aggies into keeping him despite the failures on the field, which is obviously far from the truth. Here’s Axson’s take on his future:
“Entering his sixth season in College Station and armed with a massive contract, Fisher hasn’t accomplished much with the Aggies besides compiling highly touted recruiting classes and feuding with Nick Saban. If the powers that be don’t want to buy him out for close to $80 million, the tolerance for another 5-7 season will be extremely high, and Fisher will keep his job … for now.”
No matter how you word it, as Axson cleverly illustrated, this narrative is blatantly false. The powers that be in College Station will likely reconvene if Fisher puts out another stinker of a season. Still, as someone who covers the program inside and out on a nearly 24/7 basis, the 2023 Texas A&M Aggies are geared to not just rebound but make some serious noise in the SEC.
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