› Fisher will coach Aggies,
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Jimbo Fisher, who led Florida State’s football program to its third national title to cap the 2013 season and opened this one with the Seminoles ranked in the top five, is leaving to become the head coach at Texas A&M.
On Friday, Fisher told university president John Thrasher he was resigning to accept an offer from the Aggies.
“I believe Texas A&M is getting one of the best coaches in college football. We appreciate all he has done for our program and wish him and his family great success moving forward,” Thrasher said in a released statement that closed days of speculation about Fisher’s future.
Fisher went 83-23 in eight seasons in charge of the Seminoles, who won three Atlantic Coast Conference championships and four ACC Atlantic Division titles during his tenure. He will replace Kevin Sumlin, who was fired last weekend after going 51-26 overall and 25-23 in Southeastern Conference competition in six seasons at Texas A&M. The Houston Chronicle reported Fisher is expected to earn between $7 million and $7.5 million annually with a deal for at least five years.
Fisher, who compiled a 48-17 record in ACC play with the Seminoles, is headed to a program that has lofty hopes amid a drought. The Aggies last won a conference title in 1998, when they were in the Big 12, and the school’s only national title came in 1939. After the school’s Board of Regents met Thursday, Texas A&M chancellor John Sharp said with a smile that expectations were “nothing serious. We just want him to win a national championship.”
Fisher is only 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 today and needs a win to be bowl eligible for a 36th consecutive season. Defensive line coach Odell Haggins will be the interim coach.
Athletic director Stan Wilcox said the school is “extremely pleased by the quality of individuals who have already expressed interest in being the head coach at Florida State University. I am confident we will fill the position very soon.”
The Seminoles were ranked third in the preseason Top 25 but lost quarterback Deondre Francois in the opening loss against Alabama and were 3-6 before winning their past two games. Florida State is trying to avoid its first losing season since 1976.