Florida State’s Fisher resigns to become coach at Texas A&M
Jimbo Fisher, who coached Florida State to its third national title in 2013 and opened this season with his team ranked in the top five, is leaving the school to become the head coach at Texas A&M.
Fisher told university President John Thrasher on Friday that he was resigning to accept Texas A&M’s offer.
“I believe Texas A&M is getting one of the best coaches in college football,” Thrasher said in a statement released by Florida State. “We appreciate all he has done for our program and wish him and his family great success moving forward.”
Fisher leaves Florida State after going 83-23 in eight seasons. Besides the national championship, he led the Seminoles to three ACC titles and four ACC Atlantic Division crowns. He will replace Kevin Sumlin, who was fired last weekend after going 51-26 in six seasons at Texas A&M. The Houston Chronicle reported that Fisher is expected to earn between $7 million and $7.5 million annually over at least five years.
Fisher goes to a program that has lofty hopes amid a drought: Texas A&M last won a conference championship in 1998, when it was in the Big 12. The school’s only national title came in 1939. Texas A&M Chancellor John Sharp said after Thursday’s Board of Regents meeting that expectations were “nothing serious. We just want him to win a national championship.”
Fisher is just the fourth head coach to leave a school where he has won an AP national championship and go directly to another college job. The last to do it was Johnny Majors, who went from Pittsburgh to Tennessee in 1977.
Florida State (5-6) faces Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday and needs a win to be bowl eligible for a 36th consecutive season. Defensive line coach Odell Haggins will be the interim coach.
The Seminoles were ranked third in the preseason Top 25 but lost quarterback Deondre Francois in an opening loss against Alabama and were 3-6 at one point. Florida State is trying to avoid its first losing season since 1976. Fulmer new Tennessee AD: Tennessee named Phillip Fulmer athletic director and placed former AD John Currie on paid leave amid what has been a tumultuous and embarrassing football coaching search.
Tennessee fired coach Butch Jones last month and was close to hiring Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano on Sunday. That deal fell through amid a public backlash. Currie met Thursday with Washington State coach Mike Leach.
Reports linked Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy and Purdue’s Jeff Brohm to Tennessee’s vacancy, but both stayed put, and Gundy received a raise. North Carolina State’s Dave Doeren also got a raise, agreeing to a new contract Thursday after speaking with Tennessee.
Fulmer, a former Volunteers and Hall of Fame coach, led Tennessee to the 1998 national title. Barrett will start: Six days after undergoing surgery on his injured right knee, Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett will start on Saturday in the Big Ten title game in Indianapolis against No. 3 Wisconsin.