Texas A&M has given Jimbo Fisher everything possible to win; will it ever happen?
The money has been spent, the commitment has been made time and again, and while a Texas A&M fan’s relationship with reason can be fleeting, any Aggie should ask, “When is it going to be our turn?”
Watching Texas A&M lose at Miami on Saturday provided a lot of fun for so many people, from Tallahassee to Austin, Fort Worth, Lubbock, Waco and beyond.
If you are an Aggie, the John James era in College Station is neither amusing, nor it is it inspiring. It is just so four-letter frustrating.
The following is not necessarily fair, or even right, but Jimbo’s time as an Aggie has become entirely about the money. The 10-year, fully guaranteed $95 million contract extension he signed on Sept. 1, 2021 was to provide stability, but it has morphed a live hand grenade.
The problem isn’t that Jimbo makes stupid money. All coaches at major programs make stupid money; you’ve got kickball coaches making six figures.
The Aggies’ problem is ROI. There isn’t much.
Texas A&M has held up its end, and taken away any excuse as to why Jimbo’s teams have not come close to mirroring the success he had at Florida State.
Even the head coach admits it.
On Wednesday during the SEC coaches’ conference, I asked him if he felt like he has everything in place to win.
“Yes I do. I really do,” he said.
Normally, these sorts of questions are all invitations for a coach to say, “Yes, but ... we need this and that.”
Jimbo would say nothing of the kind. Not just because it would have sounded bad, but because it’s the truth.
“The administration here, the people have been really good supporting with facilities, and support, and talk with what we do and how we treat our athletes in all phases, academically. Everything,” he said. “We’re recruiting well. We just have to get over this little hump.”
That “little hump” is still there. It’s the same “little hump” that has existed since decades before Jimbo arrived.
Sometimes that “little hump” looks like an ant hill. Today, that “little hump” looks more like the K2.
He cleared that “little hump” at Florida State, as Bobby Bowden did before him. Fisher has yet to clear it at Texas A&M.
Because it’s always something.
On Saturday at Miami, when the Aggies had the quarterback play from sophomore Conner Weigman, the defense was awful. When the defense made plays, the offense turned the ball over.
The offensive line play was barely erratic; tackling by the defense was optional.
When you lose 48-33, there isn’t A reason. There are reasonS.
There is always something that has prevented A&M from being what an Aggie wants more than air: To be great at football.
“It’s a very fair question. That’s a very fair question,” Jimbo said. “I thought we did in 2020. I thought we had a tremendous year. I thought we should have been in the playoffs.”
All true. The Aggies finished 9-1 that season, were robbed of a berth in the playoffs, and won the Orange Bowl in a half-full stadium.
Also, it was 2020, and the significance of any achievement is covered by a mask.
“After that we had a couple of injuries and youth at the same time,” Fisher said. “Then we have to keep the faith, and continue to do this. We have to play on the road better. I do think we are a good team. I do think we will (win); saying it and doing it are different things.
“Once you get there you realize, ‘OK, I know how to do this.’ I do think we’re close, but I think you are as close and as far as you want to be.”
The Aggies under Fisher are the golfer who is trying to earn his PGA Tour card; they’re so close, and so far.
There is nothing else A&M can do. The money is there. The facilities are there. The fan support is there. The administration has been patient, and supportive as a 100-year old oak tree.
Now in his sixth season at Texas A&M, Jimbo’s tenure there bears little resemblance to his sixth year at Florida State. He knows that.
Two games into his sixth season at FSU, the Seminoles were 60-11 with four bowl wins, a national title and an appearance in the first college football playoffs.
Two games into his sixth year at College Station, the Aggies are 40-22 with three bowl wins, and one losing season.
It was around this time in his eight-year tenure at Florida State when some of the Seminole administration started to show some Jimbo-fatigue. His teams were winning, but he continually kept insisting that FSU had to do more.
(When a college head coach says, “We have to do more” that’s translates to, “We have to spend more.”)
As mentioned above, Jimbo has nothing to say about the support at A&M other than what he said. He has every tool, toy and dollar available to build a good team.
The Aggies are just two weeks into the season, and they are just as apt to upset Alabama or LSU as they are lose to Mississippi State or Arkansas.
As a university, athletic department and a fan base, A&M has done everything possible; it’s on Jimbo, his staff and their players to make winning happen.
Because as unreasonable as an Aggie can be, it’s not unreasonable for any of them to ask, “When is it going to be our turn?”
This story was originally published September 14, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
