Would Alabama Hire Former Texas A&M Football Coach Jimbo Fisher?

Would Alabama Hire Former Texas A&M Football Coach Jimbo Fisher After Nick Saban's Retirement?

Just up top here, I want to say that I don't find it extremely likely that Alabama would pursue the former coach for Texas A&M football to be the next head man in Tuscaloosa. If they did hire him, it would bring joy to pretty much every rival the Tide has, which is always a sign you've made a bad hire.

There's not only the recent lack of success despite huge amounts of resources working against the former Aggie coach. There's also the feud that he had with the outgoing Crimson Tide legend back in 2022, which set many Alabama fans against Jimbo personally. Even though they've spoken of each other well since that blowup, it would be hard to imagine Fisher coaching on a campus that houses a statue of a man he proclaimed only a couple of years prior he "[doesn't] want to be associated with," should have been slapped, and more.

Even so, it doesn't seem like the craziest idea in the final analysis. I doubt that Jimbo is the highest coach on the Tide's list, but would it surprise anyone to see him on there at some point? I certainly wouldn't be shocked if I heard they threw his name around.

There is likely no better recruiter in the nation than Jimbo—just look at the classes he was able to put together at Texas A&M football versus the yearly records he had. He obviously has a national championship on his record, though the memory and shine are fading fast there. He brings a lot of cache and connections, for better or for worse. I doubt he would be allowed to run his offense there, however, which may mean he doesn't want to take the opportunity.

The fact of the matter is that we have not seen the Alabama athletic department make a football hire in 17 years, which means we just plainly do not know how organized, effective, or wise they will be in the process. Much has been made of how well Saban was able to bring order out of chaos with regard to the boosters and administration in Tuscaloosa—could dysfunction rear its ugly head again? It's certainly possible. There are lots of reasons for them to not hire Jimbo, and I don't find it likely they will. That said, all it takes is the wrong guy with a lot of power to get a notion (see Scott Woodward).

So no, I don't expect this to happen. But it certainly could. And if it did, Texas A&M football fans—along with Georgia, Auburn, and Tennessee fans—everywhere would be quite pleased.