Jimbo Fisher Got Paid A Lot to Be an Average Football Coach

Texas A&M has relieved Jimbo Fisher of his head coaching duties. Let’s discuss.

I have to say, I am kind of shocked by this news. It wasn't as if Fisher was lighting the coaching world on fire, but it felt like he kind of had carte blanche since taking over the job. I guess I was wrong to assume such. They did just give him an extension, and he seemed to pull in top ten recruiting classes with ease, but here we are. The recruiting may have been gang busters, but the results were not coming in the form of as many wins as the boosters and AD's wanted. When Fisher left Florida State to take this job I thought it was a bad move on his part. If anything it felt like a lateral move. FSU and TAMU are kind of similar in the college football world. In fact, FSU may be a better football school. But after winning a national title and having a couple of ten win seasons, Fisher turned that into a humongous payday and left to go coach the Aggies. But he was never really able to turn the Aggies into a national title contender like they all hoped when they hired him.

Since taking over in 2018 the Aggies never won more than nine games under Fisher. They always had the hype. They always had the next big star in college football. They always had a high preseason ranking. They always have had a major home field advantage. But it never fully seemed to come together. The best player on his 2018 team was tight end Jace Sternberger. Sternberger was fine, but not the game changer they hoped for. They also beat the teams they were supposed to, but could not get over the hump. They played number two Clemson close, but couldn't pull off the win. They got smoked by Alabama that season. And Mississippi State and Auburn beat them back to back. They did win their bowl game to get that 9th win against NC State. The season was off to a good start, but they never really built off that.

In 2019 they ended up 8-5, taking a step back. They were beaten by Clemson again. Auburn also beat them. Alabama smoked them again. Georgia took it to them and LSU throttled them. Their best player that year was a defensive tackle.

The COVID shortened 2020 season was Fisher's best. The Aggies finished 9-1 and finally beat some good teams. They still got smoked by Alabama. But, they did beat number 4 Florida. They also beat LSU and Auburn. And they took down UNC in their bowl game. Their best player that season was QB Kellen Mond. He had a very, very good year that turned him into a 3rd round draft pick. Then the regression came on strong.

They followed up their nine win season returning to 8-5. Arkansas beat them. Unranked Mississippi State beat them. They finally beat Alabama. But they were beaten by Ole Miss and LSU. They had an amazing recruiting class, but it never really panned out. Zach Caldaza was the QB. De'Von Achane was their running back. DeMarvin Leal seemed ready for a breakout. None of that happened. They never really put it together.

Last season was their worst though. They had all kinds of preseason hype. They were picked to finish second in the SEC. They had preseason all conference picks. They had an elite recruiting class. It just never worked out the way they planned it. App State beat them in week 2. TAMU was ranked 6th overall at this point. They did win two straight, over ranked opponents. But then they got beat in six straight games. Mississippi State smoked them. Alabama beat them in a close game. South Carolina won by six. Ole Miss beat them by a field goal. Florida smashed them. And Auburn beat them by three. The bleeding stopped, but barely, when they beat a very bad UMASS team by a field goal. And they closed out the season by upsetting number 5 LSU. But they never really looked all that good in 2022. Haynes King and Max Johnson split time at QB and neither was great. De'Von Achane was the lead back, but he never really got going. The wideouts never got much of a chance. The defense spent too much time on the field. It was a blown season. I do think the LSU win gave the fans and front office hope, but it was false hope.

A&M came into this year with less hype, but still predicted to be better. They had another very good recruiting class. They brought in solid transfers. They had some returning talent. But it didn't work. Miami beat them in week two by 15. Alabama beat them again. Tennessee shut them down. And Ole Miss took them down by a field goal. Sure, they have six wins, but the wins are kind of hollow. They did win their last game, 51-10, thus making the firing even crazier, but here we are.

Fisher was never able to find the success he achieved at FSU with TAMU. They hype was there, they had all the preseason love,  but it never fully came together. I think hiring people like DJ Durkin never helped as well. Jimbo Fisher tried to surround himself with elite coaches, he just picked the wrong ones. He could get elite recruits, but they either transferred or never panned out. They probably deserved better coaching.

I am curious to see where Fisher goes from here. I wonder if he will stay out of coaching for awhile, he has an extremely high payout, and I wouldn't blame him. But if he does come back to coaching I will have to think he will have to go to a mid-major style school, or become a coordinator at a power 5 school. Fisher got paid, big time, by TAMU. He took a chance on himself when he left FSU, it just didn't work out. Now we wait to see the next move. It should be interesting. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Nick Saban is a Stupid Head

I have been following all the Nick Saban nonsense. I am a college football fan, and during this time of year there are not too many sports that intrigue me. I love the NBA, but these conference finals have been nearly unwatchable. I do not like MLB. Baseball is boring and dull and takes forever. These run of the mill little league NFL leagues are bad, bad football. And the college sports landscape is really rough right now. So college football news is my go to. And there is no recruiting news I follow because I honestly do not care what an 18 year old has to say. They can make all the verbal commitments they want, that does not mean a thing until they are at the school, and even then things can change. But this story, this particular recruiting story has been impossible and so, so intriguing.

For the non sports fans out there, Nick Saban did a speech a week or so ago and made claims that Jimbo Fisher only had the top recruiting class because he paid every kid to go there. He claimed they all had a promise of instant NIL success if they attended A&M. Saban didn't stop there. He also accused Deion Sanders and Jackson State of giving the top recruit in the country a one million dollar deal to go there. Deion and the recruit instantly went after Saban and let him know how wrong he was. The recruit made a point to say, via Twitter, that, "if I got a million dollars, why is my mom living in a one room apartment with five kids?". It was such a perfect response. Deion went after his neck. Deion called him out over and over again. It was great, and what I expected Deion to do. He stood up for himself and his players. I loved his response. Seriously, go look up his response, it is poetry.

Not to be outdone, Jimbo Fisher went after Saban's neck, throat, heart and his soul. It was brilliant. I loved every single second of his presser following Saban's remarks. It was simply perfect. I also appreciated how Fisher did not talk around how there is rampant cheating in college football recruiting. He called out Saban. He said he thinks he is "god", and "the czar of college football". He also let it be known that Saban isn't the saint that he makes himself, and ESPN for that matter, out to be. He told the reporters to go out there and check on Saban's past, that they wouldn't necessarily be surprised by what they found. But he also never said he didn't cheat. He never said he did, but he also never said he didn't. I know he came out and said that only one of the ten 5 stars they signed has a NIL deal already, but who knows what he is hiding from everyone else. And I like that he didn't say either way how he got such a great class.

What I think this all really boils down to is Saban is frustrated that he doesn't control college football recruiting anymore. My dad has said it many times, but prior to NIL, Alabama and Nick Saban were like an NFL team that had all 30 first round picks. Every kid wanted to go there because they knew they had a straight line to the NFL. They may have had to sit for a year or two, but if they started eventually they were going to get drafted. They also got any transfer they wanted, again for the same reasons. Alabama is like a minor league football team, and the NFL loves them for that. They also love Saban for that. But now with a somewhat level playing field, Saban is frustrated and lashing out. He is making wild accusations. He is yelling and whining and complaining because he is not getting his way. He is acting like a selfish child who cannot just take their ball home. Saban has to deal with a new reality, and he doesn't love it. He's always wanted to be the czar, as so many have made him out to be. He has always wanted to be the Bill Belichek or Greg Poppovich of college football. But it doesn't work that way. Those guys are pros. Those guys are at the highest level. The players they coach make millions upon millions of dollars. College players don't, but now some can. And others can go wherever they want and make money and start right away. The kid at Jackson State, Travis Hunter I believe is his name, decided he wanted to go to a HBCU and play right away. He didn't want to sit out a few years and wait. He wanted to play and show his talent. And maybe he wants HBCU's to get more attention. Or take the kids that signed with A&M. Maybe they have been told they will have a very, very good shot at playing immediately. Maybe some were guaranteed to start. A&M is not some world beater. But with a class like this, maybe they can make some noise. And there are so many other players who made their own choice to go to the school they wanted to and play sooner than they would if they went to Alabama. The NIL has made it, as previously stated, a more even playing field. This has seemed to make Nick Saban upset, and I am here for it all. I'm so sick and tired of his holier than thou attitude. He is not the bell of the ball anymore. He has real competition. And it is pissing him off.

This rules. I hope Jimbo Fisher, Deion Sanders and every other coach in college football continues to go after Saban's neck. That would be best.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Charlie Strong is the Best Coach for Texas

This longhorn still stands by strong

Yesterday I wrote about a college football coach, and today, I am going to do the same. Today, I want to tackle this whole Charlie Strong and Texas situation. I have heard a lot of people, most of the national sports media, calling for Strong's head since Texas got beat by Kansas last week. In fact, people have been saying he was going to get fired as early as the middle of last year.

I am on the opposite end of everyone else. I feel like Charlie Strong is one of the few coaches that I would give the full 4 or 5 year rebuild time to. First off, Texas made Mack Brown resign so they could hire Charlie Strong three years ago. Strong did wonderful things as the defensive coordinator at Florida, and was even better as a head coach at Louisville. He turned Teddy Bridgewater into a great QB. He had that defense at, or near, the top of most defensive stats. He had them in perennial BCS contention. He did a great job at Louisville. Then, after Texas forced out Brown, I was very pleasantly surprised that they went out and hired Charlie Strong. He was the best available candidate, and he got one of the best jobs in all of college football.

When Brown left, the cupboard was kind of bare. Brown was getting into that Les Miles area, where the college game had passed him by. His last few Texas teams were not world beaters like when they had Colt McCoy and Vince Young. They were treading water, going 8-4 or 9-3. They were okay, but not as good as their fans and boosters thought. Strong was brought in to bring a new toughness and a faster and better offense and defense. But, he had to recruit his style of player. Texas was a pro style type offense, and Strong ran a spread type offense. The players there his first year did not fit what he wanted to do.

And in his first season, they struggled. It wasn't as bad as Rich Rodriguez's first year at Michigan, but it wasn't that good either. After that first year, people thought, okay, one bad year, we can handle that, but they should be better in Strong's second season. Well, they made a bowl, but barely. They did not look great, but they did look better and more disciplined. That is one thing I really like about Strong. He does not take any of these kids crap, and let's not get it twisted, these are children. If people mouthed off at him and his staff, he suspended them. If they didn't get grades, he suspended them. If they did something unlawful, he kicked them off the team. He did not care how good, or how highly rated of a recruit that kid was, if they screwed up, he held them accountable. I really appreciate and respect that.

The fans and boosters did not care for this. They did not like his no-nonsense attitude, especially when it meant losing out on big time recruits. That is the problem, fans and boosters are irrational. And, when the people making the choices for coaching jobs start to listen to fans and boosters more than the actual staff, that is when stupid decisions are made. That is when the higher ups get a bit irrational themselves.

This most recent season saw Texas start out much better. They beat Notre Dame on opening weekend. That win wasn't as big as it seemed at the time, but Texas was back on the map. They went all the way up to 11 in the rankings. Then, they rolled off 2 more wins, but eventually came back down to Earth, losing a few in a row, and it all culminated at Kansas last week.

I will say that some of Strong's recruits have been pretty good this year. Texas still does not have a viable QB. They have one QB that is a great read option guy, and another that is a better passing threat. But, both guys are not upper echelon. Texas does have one of the best running backs in college though, in D'Onta Foreman. Foreman is incredible. He has been running all over people. He has been the one guy for Texas that seems like a he is a legit division 1 college football player. He is a joy to watch. And, he is a Strong recruit. Also, since Strong has taken over the defense, which is his forte, Texas hasn't been great, but they have been a hell of a lot better. The players are tackling better, the secondary is in the right spot for the most part and they seem to understand what Strong wants to do.

Look, I think Texas needs to keep him around for, at least, one more season. He finally has his recruits and they are finally starting to buy in. I know that they got beat by Kansas, but they also played Oklahoma really well this year, beat them last year, and have, at times, looked really decent. I know they want Tom Herman, who lost to SMU people, or Jimbo Fisher, who's FSU team has been wildly disappointing, or Les Miles, who got fired once this year already, but I say stick with Strong for one more season. This team could be a legit top 25 team if he sticks around. But, if they do fire him, they will be in another rebuild, and I do not know if the fans and boosters can deal with that. I say be patient, but it is not my decision, and it looks like the people who make this decision have already decided what they want to do.

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Ty has won 27 championships in a row for Michigan on his old copy of NCAA Football 2011. Do you hear that Texas boosters? Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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