Jimbo Fisher has stepped away from his position as Head Coach of the Florida State Seminoles and accepted the same position at College Station. Effective immediately, he will become the new face of the Texas A&M football after Kevin Sumlin was fired last week. Along with the departure, Fisher has secured what is potentially the richest contract in college football history in terms of value, at 10 years and $75 Million.
FSU President John Thrasher released a statement regarding Jimbo’s decision:
“Florida State University has one of the premier programs in college football and has had only two head football coaches in the past 40 years.
Today, Jimbo Fisher informed me he has accepted an offer to become the next head football coach at Texas A&M University. Coach Fisher did an exceptional job as both an assistant coach at FSU and in the challenging role of successor to the legendary Bobby Bowden. I believe Texas A&M is getting one of the best coaches in college football. We appreciate all he has done for our program and wish him and his family great success moving forward. From the moment media reports began to circulate about our position, it became evident the job would attract great interest from a number of elite coaches, and we will move quickly to evaluate candidates from across the nation. Our fans are the best in the country, loyal and passionate about developing student-athletes who are champions on and off the field. They’ve made Doak Campbell Stadium one of the most thrilling venues in all of college sports along with its storied traditions that represent the spirit and excellence of our distinguished university, athletically and academically. The excitement around Florida State is indisputable, and a tremendous opportunity awaits whoever is chosen as our new head football coach.”
Texas A&M is getting a huge upgrade at head coach with a proven champion. The Aggies have invested a great deal into their new facilities, in addition to renovating Kyle Field recently but haven’t finished better than .500 in SEC play since their first year in the conference. Jimbo was adamant about improving facilities in Tallahassee for the benefit of the players and that might have been one of the key reasons for his decision.
As for the coaching search, it’s a tossup. FSU assistant coach Odell Haggins will serve as the interim head coach. With Louisiana-Monroe as their last opponent of the season and bowl implications being on the line, two wins to finish the year would look good for Haggins in the future, similar to Ed Orgeron at LSU in recent years. Still, there are some names to be considered. Fisher, who is now in a rebuilding situation, is leaving behind a top 10 ranked recruiting class. That makes FSU a marquee destination for candidates. Names like Oregon head coach Willie Taggart, Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente and UCF head coach Scott Frost are all in the mix for the job.
