Texas A&M Football: Is There A Play-Calling Controversy in Aggieland?

Texas A&M football’s head man took the podium yesterday for his yearly spring practice kickoff press conference. This was Jimbo Fisher’s first press conference since the hire of Bobby Petrino was made, so you had to anticipate that several questions would be asked about how the hire went down as well as Petrino’s anticipated role, despite numerous reports that the new hire would be the one calling the plays this fall.

When asked about Petrino and his role, however, Jimbo offered an answer that rankled the feathers of some.

It is the rather noncommittal first part of this answer that had certain of the Texas A&M football faithful in a tizzy and the Aggies’ rivals crowing on social media yesterday.

It is important, however, to note the second part of the quote; something many who were quick to react failed to do.

He said Petrino is calling plays. About as straightforwardly as you can. The context of the quote is someone having previously asked about the development of the offense during the spring, to which Jimbo replied that only base concepts would be run at this time. It was in this headspace that he answered this follow up; the reporter initially asks about whether hiring Bobby will improve execution, to which Jimbo responds with a bit of coachspeak about how important execution is (something Texas A&M football fans heard a lot about last year). He then seems a bit taken aback by the playcalling question, as it’s a quick switch in topic. He’s still in coachspeak mode, so he gives the answer of “we’ll go through that as we go,” which is basically a non-answer. Realizing what he said, he comes back to it and says that Petrino will be the one calling plays. This is pretty simple stuff.

There is no controversy here. There is no walking back of previous announcements. What you have is a head coach that is (understandably, given the circumstances) a bit defensive during his press conference. That’s not exactly amazing, but it’s also not any indication of turmoil within the program.

Jimbo knows he has something to prove this year. He failed pretty spectacularly in the eyes of the college football-watching public in 2022. The entire year was essentially a referendum in the media on this aspect of his coaching identity that got him to where he is. Of course he’s recalcitrant when asked.

How this all pans out is another question. I’m withholding judgment for now, but I can see the potential as well as the pitfalls. One thing is for sure: the eyes of the country will scrutinize the Aggie offense closely this fall. Hopefully Conner Weigman, Evan Stewart, and company will show everyone just how high their ceiling can be.