Former Texas A&M Coach Jimbo Fisher Linked to LSU Opening

Could former Texas A&M Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher return to his old stomping grounds?

Nov 26, 2022; College Station, Texas, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly and Texas A&M Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher talk prior to a game at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

There's a new major job opening in college football, and the Texas A&M Aggies can consider themselves responsible for it.

After the Aggies marched into Baton Rouge and stomped the LSU Tigers 49-25 on Saturday, the Tigers fired embattled head coach Brian Kelly late Sunday night in the midst of his fourth season. Despite his 34-14 record at LSU (19-9 in SEC play), Kelly had his team underperforming at just 5-3 this season (2-3 in SEC play), and he's always been a divisive figure due to his personality. Saturday night's blowout loss at home was the final nail in the coffin, and the Tigers will pay him a buyout north of $53 million - the second-largest in college football history - to part ways with him.

Now, the Tigers find themselves looking for a new head coach alongside other premier programs such as Florida and Penn State. A plethora of candidates have already been linked to the job, but one will surely catch the eyes of Aggies fans: Jimbo Fisher.

Would LSU Even Want Jimbo Fisher?

Jan 3, 2007; New Orleans, LA, USA; Louisiana State Tigers offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher watches warm ups before playing the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the Sugar Bowl at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. Fisher left LSU to take the offensive coordinator job at Florida State. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-Imagn Images Copyright © 2007 John David Mercer | John David Mercer-Imagn Images

According to CBS Sports' Chris Hummer, Fisher could be a dark-horse candidate for the LSU job. The former Texas A&M and Florida State head coach has ties to LSU, serving as the Tigers' offensive coordinator under Nick Saban and Les Miles from 2000 to 2006.

"Reunited and it feels so good!" Hummer wrote. "I know suggesting Fisher here seems absurd. But remember it's [LSU athletic director Scott] Woodward who hired Fisher at Texas A&M and believed in him to such a degree he gave Fisher a historically lucrative contract to lure him from Florida State.

"Fisher's star has obviously dimmed. But Woodward actively pursued Fisher when he conducted LSU's search in 2021. Fisher has deep ties to LSU and is a national championship-winning coach. It's a marriage that makes a lot of sense if you can ignore Fisher's last two seasons in College Station."

That's a pretty big "if" at the end of that blurb, though, as Fisher's final two years at Texas A&M were a disaster. He went 5-7 in 2022, with one of those losses coming in a historic upset against Appalachian State, and 6-4 in 2023 before getting the axe. Texas A&M paid him a whopping $77.5 million buyout - by far the largest in college football history - for him to not coach any longer.

That's to say nothing of his final years at Florida State, which were just as ugly. Not only did the Seminoles crater in the last year of his tenure, but there were a plethora of issues as well, with the team reportedly having the worst academic progress rate among Power Five schools and being close to the NCAA taking action.

Needless to say, there are a lot of red flags surrounding Fisher. If LSU wants to go from the coach with the second-highest buyout ever to the one with the highest, more power to it, but it seems like it would be a very odd decision.