Jimbo Fisher’s Lack of Coaching Tree a Key Indicator of Problem

Jimbo Fisher and his assistants

Jimbo was also the first to give Jeremy Pruitt a job as a DC, but his name is obviously one that rightly draws much ridicule at this point when it comes to being a head coach. Charles Kelly has bounced around as a DC as well, though he has never been a head coach of a college program. Elijah Robinson will likely land a DC or HC job somewhere soon as well.

The offensive side of the ball, however, is much more bare. Part of this is a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy, as if Jimbo is the OC—and OC is the position where schools looking to hire an up and coming offensive guy as their HC go—then it stands to reason that fewer people would be hired from that side of the ball. Since arriving at Texas A&M, the only two members of Jimbo Fisher’s offensive coaching staff that has been hired to a position considered even a nominal promotion in duty are Josh Henson, who was hired as co-OC at Southern Cal (though we all know Lincoln Riley calls that offense), and Joe Jon Finley, who was hired as offensive assistant HC at OU.

So how big of an issue is this for Jimbo Fisher? Well, it’s certainly not a great sign that an offensively-minded head coach is failing to produce highly-sought-after assistants. It perhaps could speak to the value that other coaches or schools place on Jimbo as an offensive mind. Like I said, however, it could also be chalked up to the fact that Jimbo has been his own OC for almost his whole head coaching career. Lincoln Riley, for example, hasn’t produced anyone from his coaching tree since becoming a head coach apart from Shane Beamer (interestingly, Riley hired both of the aforementioned Finley and Henson).

Nevertheless, this is a point that at the very least is being hammered on the recruiting trail. Had Fisher hired an up-and-comer at OC, this trend could have reversed, but he hired Petrino—who, to be fair, is indeed a respected offensive mind. Just another data point here as the conversation around Jimbo Fisher continues to evolve.