Rece Davis floats Jimbo Fisher as candidate for major college football job

Things have continued to trend in the wrong direction for LSU under former head coach Brian Kelly.

A second-half collapse against Texas A&M was the final straw as the Tigers chose to fire Kelly on Sunday. LSU has now lost three of its past four games, all against SEC opponents, including losses to Ole Miss and Vanderbilt.

In his four seasons in Baton Rouge, Kelly compiled a 34-14 overall record, going 19-10 against SEC opponents. He led the program to the SEC Championship game in his first season and three consecutive bowl wins, but never met the championship expectations that were set when he was hired.

Attention has now shifted to who will replace Kelly in Baton Rouge, and names continue to float as potential candidates. During a recent episode of the College GameDay podcast, Rece Davis revealed why former Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher could be a dark horse candidate for the LSU job.

"Things can change over time, things can become politically untenable, but do you know who the athletic director at LSU loves?" Davis asked. "And this is not just because he gave him a big, fat contract at Texas A&M. He has loved him since he was the offensive coordinator at LSU under Nick Saban years and years ago."

Former Texas A&M Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Davis added that Woodward not only has a great relationship with Fisher but is also ready to return to coaching. Fisher has not coached since 2023, when Texas A&M fired him after 10 games. He most recently has served as an analyst for the ACC Network.

"You know who wants back in? John James Fisher," Davis continued. "I think I got the John James right, but what do they call him? Jimbo. You get down to a level... I know you can't. I know you kind of can't... He loves him. I know that for a fact."

Fisher spent seven seasons (2000-06) as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at LSU. The Tigers won a national championship with Fisher as an assistant before departing for the same role at Florida State in 2007.

After three seasons as offensive coordinator, Fisher was promoted to head coach in 2010, replacing legendary head coach Bobby Bowden. In eight seasons, he compiled an 83-23 overall record, winning 10 or more games in six seasons. He led the Seminoles to the BCS National Championship in 2013.

Fisher left Florida State in 2018 to take the Texas A&M head coaching job. He won eight or more games in each of his first four seasons, but went 11-11 over his final two seasons. In 2020, the Aggies finished 9-1, won the Orange Bowl, and ranked in the Top 5 in the final AP Top 25 poll.

"Politically, I don't think Woodward can do that again after he's already done it once, and after the BK (Brian Kelly) thing, he probably can't do it again," Davis said. "But I bet there would be some people in Louisiana that wouldn't balk at that. They remember the glory days of when he was running the offenses.

"It's a far out there notion, but it just crossed my mind when I saw it," Davis continued. "Because I know of the affinity that Scott Woodward and the regard that Scott Woodward has for Jimbo Fisher."