Jimbo Fisher gets 10-year, $75M deal at Texas A&M

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Jimbo Fisher wasn’t wearing a white hat when he arrived at Texas A&M on Monday, no signs of a swashbuckling, down-home savior for program desperate to compete with the best in the Southeastern Conference.

But the West Virginia native made sure to profess his love of all things country when he was introduced as the new coach at an event that started with the school’s signature greeting of “howdy,” and ended with him being given a pair of custom, A&M-embroidered Lucchese cowboy boots.

“I’m a tobacco chewer and I wear my boots and I shoot my guns and I throw my fishing rod,” he said before lamenting that he probably shouldn’t admit all that. “And I grew up on horses.”

That spiel is sure to ingratiate him with Aggies fans for now. But in order to stay in their good graces he’ll be expected to bring this school its first national title since 1939.

The Aggies signed Fisher to a 10-year, $75 million contract to lure him away from Florida State, a place where he captured the 2013 national title and won three Atlantic Coast Conference championships in eight seasons.

Fisher takes over for Kevin Sumlin, who was fired Nov. 26 after the Aggies finished the regular season 7-5 and 4-4 in the SEC.

The 53-year-old Sumlin, who went 5126 and led the Aggies to a bowl game in each of his six seasons, is still owed $10 million for the remaining two years on his contract.

Fisher said he had no intention of ever leaving Florida State until Texas A&M athletic director Scott Woodward contacted his agent last week, and he admitted that he probably wouldn’t have taken the job if not for him. The two worked together 17 years ago at LSU and maintained a close relationship. He was interested in what his old friend had to say.

“I had no plans on ever leaving there,” Fisher said. “But with the people I’m working with, with the place I’m going and (Woodward) explaining the things to me, as I researched, I thought it was an opportunity I just couldn’t pass up, and a challenge that I thought that was out there that I just couldn’t pass up.”