At a time when Nick Saban hasn’t completely ruled out a return to coaching, his former lieutenant-turned-nemesis and fellow West Virginia native is being more candid and direct about his desire to get back in the game.
Via ESPN.com, former Florida State and Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher recently said on the Trials to Triumph podcast that he wants to give it another go.
Fisher said he’s looking for “the right situation” to return to coaching at the college level.
“I’m 59, in great shape and healthy,” Fisher said. “I’ve had success everywhere we’ve ever been. The end at Texas A&M, it’s unfortunate, but we also had the highest-ranked team they ever had there in 2020. Our quarterbacks got hurt. We played with first-team, third-team. . . . It was hard to get playcalling and guys around. . . . Didn’t pan out like we needed to, but I still love it.”
There’s no denying that Fisher has performed well.
“I’ve won 72 percent of my games, won 80 percent of my playoff games,” Fisher said. “I’ve been fortunate to win a national championship as a head coach and assistant. I miss the relationships with players. I would be very interested in still doing it. I still think I’ve got a lot to give. I’d like to get back out there.”
Texas A&M would be thrilled if it happens. The bill for parting ways with Fisher in 2023 exceeded $75 million. His earnings at his next gig would chew into the remainder of that buyout, which is believed to be $7.2 million per year through 2031.
Last month, Saban said this when pressed about coaching again: “There is no opportunity that I know of right now that would enhance me to go back to coaching.”
Fisher served as offensive coordinator under Saban at LSU. In 2023, they squabbled publicly over the NIL issue, with Fisher making some loaded comments about Saban’s ways in the days before it was permissible to pay players.
It will be interesting, to say the least, if there’s a college opportunity that Fisher wants — and that Saban sees as something that “would enhance [him] to go back to coaching.”