Texas A&M dismisses Jimbo Fisher as head football coach of the Aggies

Jimbo Fisher has been let go as the head football coach at Texas A&M University.

TexAgs co-owner and executive editor Billy Liucci first reported the news on X, the platform previously known as Twitter.

His ouster puts an end to Fisher’s controversial and disappointing six-year tenure in College Station.

The decision to terminate Fisher was made at a Board of Regents meeting. Texas A&M University will owe Fisher approximately $76 million for the remaining eight years of his guaranteed contract.

Liucci’s report comes after A&M (6-4, 4-3 in the SEC) defeated Mississippi State at Kyle Field on Saturday night, 51-10.

Fisher leaves Texas A&M with a 45-25 overall record and a 27-21 record in Southeastern Conference play.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel has reported that assistant head coach Elijah Robinson is expected to assume the role of interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

Fisher left Florida State in 2017 to accept a fully guaranteed 10-year, $75 million contract at A&M. He received a raise and contract extension to 10 years and $95 million in September of 2021.

The raise and contract extension came after a successful 2020 campaign in which the Aggies finished 9-1, won the Orange Bowl and were ranked No. 4 in the final AP poll. That was A&M’s highest final ranking since winning the national championship in 1939.

Fisher was also approached by LSU’s Athletics Director Scott Woodward, who was looking to replace ousted coach Ed Orgeron.

Woodward had previously been the Director of Athletics at Texas A&M and led the effort to hire Fisher away from Florida State.

At A&M, Woodward was seeking a replacement for coach Kevin Sumlin, who was fired after a 7-5 finish in 2017.

Fisher was his top choice. Fisher had replaced legendary Florida State coach Bobby Bowden in 2010 and led the Seminoles to the national championship in 2013. His teams were 83-23 in eight seasons in Tallahassee.

Since joining the Southeastern Conference in 2012, A&M has made the commitment to compete and win at the highest levels of college football. The Aggies made no secret their goal was to win another national title. During a 2018 event in Commerce, Chancellor of the Texas A&M University System John Sharp gave Fisher a dateless national championship plaque. The date was to be filled in when Fisher led the Aggies to a national title.

The Fisher regime started off strong. The Aggies were 9-4 and won the Gator Bowl in his first season.

They finished 8-5 with a Texas Bowl victory over Oklahoma State in his second season.

After narrowly defeating Vanderbilt and losing to Alabama to start the 2020 season, the Aggies upset No. 4 Florida, 41-38. That kicked off an eight-game winning streak to close out the pandemic-shortened campaign.

A&M hoped to get into the four-team playoff and have a chance for a rematch against Alabama for a national championship. Instead, the College Football Playoff Committee ranked A&M fifth.

As a consolation prize, the Aggies went to the Orange Bowl, where they defeated North Carolina, 41-27.

There were great hopes the momentum would continue in 2021. The Aggies were ranked No. 6 in both the preseason AP and coaches polls.

However, starting quarterback Haynes King suffered a season-ending broken leg in a 10-7 victory over Colorado in the second game of the season.

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Fisher famously said, “We ain’t done yet!” following the Maroon & White’s victory over North Carolina in the 2021 Capital One Orange Bowl.

Backup quarterback Zach Calzada struggled in subsequent losses to Arkansas and Mississippi State but played brilliantly in a 41-38 upset of No. 1 Alabama. Also, Fisher became the first of Nick Saban’s former assistant coaches to beat him.

The Aggies surged to three more consecutive SEC victories and had a chance to finish first in the SEC West, but they lost to Ole Miss and LSU and finished 8-4. The Maroon & White opted out of an invitation to play in the Gator Bowl due to COVID-19 complications.

However, the disappointing 2021 season was overshadowed by the excitement of the 2022 recruiting class.

A&M’s class, which featured eight five-star prospects, was ranked No. 1 in the nation. It was even considered the best in college football history.

The class drew so much attention that Saban said that A&M, “bought its entire recruiting class.” He said that while asking a group of Crimson Tide supporters for increased donations, presumably so Alabama could buy players.

Fisher responded angrily to Saban’s comments. The next day he called a press conference in which he called Saban a narcissist and implied that Saban had often violated NCAA recruiting rules.

That strained relationship between the coaches appeared to have been smoothed over by the time the 2022 season began.

Again, the Aggies opened the season ranked No. 6, but what followed was perhaps the most disappointing season in A&M history.

In the second game, A&M suffered a stunning 17-14 loss to Appalachian State, who would eventually lose to Texas State.

A&M might have salvaged a disappointing year with a second-straight victory over Alabama. At the Alabama 2-yard line with three seconds remaining, Fisher called for King to throw a low-percentage pass to freshman receiver Evan Stewart at the front pylon.

The pass never had a chance to be completed, and A&M lost 24-20.

It was one of five games the Aggies lost by six points or less.

A&M finished 5-7, its first losing season since 2008, and was not eligible for a bowl game.

Jamie Maury, TexAgs

Despite bringing in veteran offensive mind Bobby Petrino to run A&M’s offense, the Aggies have continued to struggle in 2023.

That brought the frustration to peak levels as more and more of the A&M fan base voiced dissatisfaction with Fisher. Most of the frustration was based on Fisher’s offense, which was ranked just 101st in the nation in scoring and 93rd in total yardage.

Detractors complained his offense was too complicated, too old and too ineffective. Fisher was criticized for often using all his timeouts too soon, taking too long to call plays and clock mismanagement.

Seemingly acknowledging the validity of that criticism, he hired former Arkansas and Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino to call plays.

But at last summer’s SEC Media Days, Fisher drew criticism when he appeared hesitant to confirm that Petrino would indeed call the plays.

Whether Petrino has or has not called plays could be up for debate. What cannot be debated is Fisher’s team largely failed again in 2023.

The Aggies appeared unprepared and uninspired in a 48-33 loss at Miami on Sept. 9.

They responded with wins over Louisiana Monroe, Auburn and Arkansas to set up a big matchup with No. 11 Alabama.

The Aggies led 17-10 at halftime, but the offense sputtered in the second half. A&M fell 26-20.

Offensive issues again were a problem the ensuing week as A&M lost 20-13 at No. 19 Tennessee.

The Aggies then came off an open week to defeat South Carolina, but last week, lost to No. 10 Ole Miss, 38-35.

That loss was apparently the last straw.