Texas A&M Football: The Case for Retaining Jimbo Fisher

Why the Texas A&M football coach should be kept around

I wrote earlier today a column putting forth the argument for a change at the top of things for Texas A&M football. As I said at the beginning of that article, I tried my best to represent the different arguments and emotions that Texas A&M football fans have been having as fairly as possible. I will do the same here.

So why keep Jimbo Fisher around as the head coach for Texas A&M football?

I know that a lot of people have patience that is growing thin. That was the case even before the 2022 season, though the huge off-field gains in the recruiting world did a lot to quell those beginning rumblings of a call for change. But as the train wreck of 2022 continued to slowly get worse and worse, the goodwill that Jimbo had built up from 2020 and a win over Alabama the previous year all but evaporated.

But then came the final game of the year.

LSU came in to Kyle Field ranked #5 in the country and already having clinched an SEC championship. They had a notion to finish off the coach that had rejected their offer the year prior to become the head man in Baton Rouge; to get some sweet vindication, a crowning achievement after their season had been so elevated and the Aggies’ so disappointing. Instead, what they got was absolutely pantsed in front of 100K fans for their third straight loss in College Station.

We all know about this. LSU fans have invented their own set of excuses for why this happened. But the reality is that Jimbo shows up in big games more often than not—one reason that the Alabama loss this year felt so disappointing was that this was the type of game that Jimbo has won for the most part as head man for Texas A&M football. That’s not something that can be said about most Aggie coaches.

He is also a relentless recruiter. Even when things take a dip on the field, he still manages to pull elite classes. Here are the Aggies’ rankings, composite score, and number of commits by star ranking (with the previous year’s record in parenthesis) for the last three full years of Sumlin’s tenure (2015-2017):

• 2015 – 11th (270.61): 3 five-stars, 10 four-stars, 13 three-stars (8-5)
• 2016 – 18th (238.94): 0 five-stars, 8 four-stars, 13 three-stars (8-5)
• 2017 – 13th (248.85): 0 five-stars. 8 four-stars, 20 three-stars (8-5)

Here are the three lowest-rated classes that Jimbo has had as head coach of Texas A&M football (not counting the transition year class of 2018):

• 2023 – 15th (268.85): 2 five-stars, 11 four-stars, 6 three-stars (5-7)
• 2020 – 8th (280.49): 1 five-star, 16 four-stars, 6 three-stars (8-5)
• 2019 – 4th (285.70): 2 five-stars, 14 four-stars, 10 three-stars (9-4)

Of course, recruiting only matters so much if it doesn’t translate to on-field production. I understand that the offense has felt half-baked (or, perhaps more appropriately, overcooked) at times since Jimbo has been here. I agree that this is not the most effective offensive system that the team can run. It’s theoretically impossible to defend, but it is the results it garners in practice that are indefensible rather than the offense itself. It requires an elite signal-caller to operate it correctly.

The thing, though, is that the Aggies have an elite signal caller on their roster. His name is Conner Weigman, and Texas A&M football fans saw his ability flash for about three and a half games at the beginning of the season. He’s the guy to operate this offense; he has the quick release and the arm talent necessary to make any throw on the field. With him at the controls, and a little experience under his belt, this Texas A&M football program flips from a struggling mass of talent to an offensive juggernaut. A look at any offensive statistic from pre-Weigman to now will bear this out. The guy had the fourth-highest QBR in the country when he got injured. He’s the man who can lead us to the promised land.

That’s the reason to wait on it. Ever since that 2022 class put pen to paper, 2024 was the year that was circled. The way the schedule fell only bolstered that assumption. Almost every big contributor from this team will be back for a shot at glory. This is our chance at a 2019 LSU or 2013 FSU year. This is the chance. If things don’t pan out, that’s the last chance, but you just have to give him at least that year. If you miss what will then be a 12-team playoff, that’s grounds to fire him. But not yet.

Contrary to what many are assuming—perhaps out of their own bitterness towards the man—Jimbo is a player’s coach. His guys love him. Add to that one of the most robust NIL structures of any school out there, and the transfer portal is not a concern of mine as long as Fisher is heading up this program. We saw what happened last season—we lost minimal talent that we actually wanted to keep around after a much worse record than we’re looking at this year. The talent will be there in 2024. Even the 2023 class, though lower in talent on paper, has already shown to have some hidden gems in guys like Taurean York.

My point is this: 2024 is the year to decide this, and even then not until after the season has transpired. At the current moment, there’s a lot of frustration from Texas A&M football fans regarding a perceived failure to take the next step after dreams of an SEC West title evaporated over a two-week period. The reality of things is that an SEC West title this year would be ahead of schedule. It looked like the Aggies were ahead of schedule at the beginning of the year; until Weigman got hurt. So why blow it up now, before you’ve had your big swing at things? That’s just plain foolish. Give it time. Support the team and the program. Keep a patient but critical eye, knowing when the bill comes due. Weather the tweets and the jokes. Now is not the time to decide—but it’s coming soon.