Pissed-Off Jimbo Fisher Rips Rumors, SEC Coaches
Don’t expect Jimbo Fisher to extend a hunting invite to Lane Kiffin anytime soon. But make no mistake, Texas A&M’s coach is coming after his SEC brethren.
On the field. And definitely on the recruiting trail.
Fresh after putting the finishing touches on the best class nationally in the 2022 cycle – and one of the best of all-time – Fisher set his sights on shooting down a number of well-circulated rumors about how that group was assembled.
Or was it bought?
“This is point‑blank,” Fisher said Wednesday. “Here’s my problem: There is no $30 million fund, there is no $5 million, there is no $10 million – this is garbage.
“And it does, it pisses me off that … it comes from a site called BroBible by a guy named SlicedBread, then everybody runs with it. So it’s written on the Internet as gospel. How irresponsible is that?”
The article referenced on BroBible.com was initially sourced from a message board user who must feel he’s the best thing since, well, you read his name. Those gargantuan figures tossed about, which have yet to be confirmed by any credible media organization, have been reported by other outlets and referenced by key players in college football, as well as academia.
A Notre Dame vice president tweeted the BroBible story. Kiffin joked about Texas A&M exceeding the salary cap earlier this week.
The latter, for Fisher, crossed the line.
“To have coaches in our league and across this league that say it? Clown acts,” he said. “Irresponsible as hell.”
Fisher also took a thinly-veiled shot at Kiffin and Ole Miss, which took a number of players via the transfer portal, including former USC quarterback Jaxson Dart and TCU running back Zach Evans.
“The guys griping about NIL, griping about transfer portal, are using it the most and bragging about it the most,” Fisher added. “That’s the ironic part. You want character? … It’s a joke. It does piss me off.”
There’s no doubt the name, image and likeness (NIL) are playing a major role in where recruits land. And Texas A&M’s large and well-funded alumni group is as active as any.
But the implication that an NIL slush fund is the reason the No. 1 class is headed to College Station undermines the work the Texas A&M staff has done over the last several years, Fisher said.
“It’s insulting to the players that we recruited that that’s why they would come here,” he said. “Have you ever been to a game here? Have you ever come to school here and see the education? You ever talked about the 12th Man and Aggie Network when you’re done? There ain’t a better university in this country.”
Fisher also pointed to a curious change in how NIL deals are perceived.
“It’s funny, when Nick Saban said his quarterback got an $800,000 deal, it was wonderful,” Fisher said. “Now it ain't wonderful no more, huh?”
Texas A&M’s resources and place in the SEC, plus proximity to recruiting hotbeds in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, San Antonio and around the state, make a compelling sell for potential Aggies.
“We’re in as good a recruiting base as there is in the country,” Fisher said. “Why shouldn’t we have the No. 1 class?”
It’s not as if this ranking is fluke. Fisher’s four recruiting classes at Texas A&M have all landed in the top 10. On the field, Texas A&M finished fourth in the final rankings in 2020 and beat then-No. 1 Alabama last season.
Those strides left a mark with a group that includes 13 members of the SI99 rankings.
“They recruited each other every bit that we recruited them,” Fisher said. “We were coming off that 9‑1 year and I thought we were the second-best team in this country. I really did. Should have been in the playoff. We weren’t. Okay, we lived it. Those kids saw that.
“The atmosphere and environment in [Kyle Field] last year, is there a better place to go watch a game? The Alabama game, even the game we lost to Mississippi State. The Auburn game, South Carolina game. And they were here seeing that. You know what I'm saying? They knew they wanted to be a part of something and they wanted to be the first to do something somewhere.”
That something is to win a national championship. Fisher determined to bring in the best of the best to Aggieland to do just that.
“We’re going to recruit all those kids that we possibly can that we can get, we can win national championships with, we can win SEC championships with, can be pro players and want all that,” he said.
And for those that doubt Texas A&M can get there without being the highest bidder in the new NIL landscape, a pissed-off Fisher is throwing down the gauntlet.
“It’s insulting to our staff, how hard we work, to how we do things, and it’s insulting to Texas A&M, because there ain’t a better place to go to school and play ball,” he said. “If you don’t like what we’re coming on, get used it to. All right? We’re not going anywhere.”
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