Jimbo On The Hot Seat? Aggies Coach A Name to 'Keep an Eye On' Says ESPN
After the worst season of his tenure in College Station, Texas A&M Aggies head football coach Jimbo Fisher is going to be under pressure in 2023.
But how much pressure?
According to ESPN's Adam Rittenberg, Fisher is one of three SEC football coaches who are on the cusp of being on the 'hot seat'.
After a 2022 season that began with Texas A&M ranked No. 6, the Aggies finished 5-7. Texas A&M's reputation as the sport's ultimate spend-big, win-little program has played out during Fisher's tenure. He has just one season with fewer than four losses.
His buyout drops from $86 million late last fall to $76.8 million this year, still a prohibitive sum for almost any school. Even minimal improvement likely would be enough to secure Fisher a sixth season in College Station. Texas A&M has a lot of new faces in key roles, including offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino, who relieves Fisher as the playcaller. There's clear boom-or-bust potential with the 2023 Aggies, creating a must-watch situation around Fisher all fall.
Missouri's Eliah Drinkwitz and Florida's Billy Napier also made the list.
But despite ESPN's prognostications, should Jimbo's job really be in danger?
Well, to put it bluntly, yes.
Fisher was hired by the Aggies for his national championship pedigree, and was thought of to be the coach to finally get the program over the hump and amongst the nation's elite.
However, that has not happened.
And to make things worse, it seems that the Aggies could be trending in the wrong direction.
After going 9-1 in 2020 with an Orange Bowl win, the Aggies dropped to 8-4 in 2021.
And in 2022, they regressed even more, finishing 5-7 with bad losses to Appalachian State, Auburn, and Florida, and less-than-stellar outings against schools like UMass, and Miami.
However, after signing a four-year extension in 2021, moving on from Fisher could prove very difficult for the Aggies thanks to his massive buyout, which drops from $86 million to $76.8 million next season.
Suffice it to say, the Aggies will find themselves in quite the conundrum should Fisher be unable to turn things around next season.
You can follow Matt Galatzan on Twitter @MattGalatzan
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