Texas A&M football is taking the poison pill and firing head coach Jimbo Fisher.
Paying the largest buyout in college football history (by a longshot) to dismiss Fisher after he was hired in 2018 following an eight-year stint as the Florida State head coach, the situation in College Station ultimately became tenable. According to reports, this decision to fire Jimbo Fisher resulted from meetings between university officials that landed on this as the only possible outcome.
Fisher spent five full seasons and 10 games of the 2023 campaign at the helm of the Aggies program. While he did get Texas A&M to 9-1 and as the first team out of the field of four in the College Football Playoff rankings for the COVID-shortened 2020 season, he never won more than nine games with the Aggies in a single year.
Most importantly, however, the Aggies have poured endless resources into the program under Fisher's watch, resulting in a massive recruiting boom that put Texas A&M in the same realm as Alabama and Georgia. The wins never followed, though, especially of late as the Aggies were a combined 11-11 with a 6-9 record in SEC play since the start of the 2022 season.
If Texas A&M is ponying up the dough to fire Jimbo Fisher, though, then finding his replacement should also be a lucrative venture, one where no expense will be spared. Critically, the Aggies also have to get this right. So let's take a look at nine possible replacements that could possibly be in the mix.
9. Deion Sanders is a College Station pipe-dream, but it should be discussed
There's no bigger name in college football coaching circles, at least in terms of the public eye, than Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders.
For as easy as it is to criticize Coach Prime for the lackluster finish to the 2023 season for the Buffs after a hot start that capture the imagination of the college football world, the job he's done in Boulder in just one year has been remarkable. Sanders took a team that went 1-11 a year ago, immediately overhauled the roster, and still has Colorado in line to possibly make a bowl game if they can win their final two games. That's unlikely, but it remains an incredible turnaround.
Because of where he stands in terms of his Colorado tenure -- and with legitimate questions about his long-term viability as a Power 5 head coach beyond just hammering the transfer portal relentlessly -- Sanders probably isn't the right man for Texas A&M. However, the Aggies would be doing themselves a disservice to not at least explore the possibility given the star power that Coach Prime would bring to College Station... and what he could parlay that into given the university and program's resources.
8. Kliff Kingsbury is probably a bad idea for Texas A&M, but he'll get a look
ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel reported an immediate list of possible candidates that could replace Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M. Perhaps the most surprising inclusion in that group, though, was former Texas Tech and Arizona Cardinals head coach, current offensive analyst at USC, Kliff Kingsbury.
Full disclosure, I'm not a Kingsbury believer. You have to believe that head coaches will show you who they are with their body of work. So in that, Kingsbury had a 35-40 overall record with the Red Raiders and a 19-35 record in Big 12 play over his six years at the helm of the program. Then, over four seasons with the Cardinals, he went 28-37-1, finishing with a winning season just once, which was also the only year he made the playoffs.
With that said, Kingsbury has familiarity with Texas as a recruiter and has been a high-end QB developer. Perhaps to address a position that's plagued the Aggies under Fisher's tenure, the program might take a harder look at Kingsbury than I would.
7. Curt Cignetti could get Texas A&M the right West Virginia man
Very much an off-the-board option, but current James Madison head coach Curt Cignetti has done a phenomenal job with the Dukes program after taking over before the start of the 2019 season. And he's also a coach with more experience then you might think.
Before beginning his head coaching tenure at IUP in 2011, Cignetti, a former West Virginia quarterback, spent time with Temple, Pitt, NC State and Alabama as an assistant. He then moved to IUP before two years at Elon and then taking the JMU job. Since arriving in Harrisonburg, he's not only accrued a silly-good 51-8 overall record, but the Dukes have also gone 18-3 sinc ejumping to FBS from FCS.
There would be some inherent risk in hiring Cignetti given his lack of experience at the SEC or even Power 5 level. However, is track record is unassailable and that might be enough to warrant consideration.
6. Chris Klieman keeps winning and could win more with A&M's resources
One could make the argument that few head coaches in college football, particularly at the Power 5 level, consistently do more with less than Chris Klieman at Kansas State. In fact, you could almost say that he's the evolved version of what Cignetti could possibly be.
Klieman rose to coaching notoriety as the head man for FCS dynasty North Dakota State. Over just five seasons with the Bison, he led the program to an absurd 69-6 record and four FCS National Championships. He replaced the legendary Bill Snyder at Kansas State and has continued that legacy in Manhattan, going 37-23 to this point in his tenure, but winning the Big 12 last year and contending again in 2023.
Though it's not outlandish to think that Klieman simply wouldn't leave K-State, Texas A&M has to ask. Klieman has long done a masterful job of maximizing talent and formulating ways to win. With the resources available with the Aggies, that could be a dangerous combination.
5. Would Lane Kiffin leave Ole Miss for Texas A&M?
Another name that was linked to Texas A&M as a Jimbo replacement in the immediate aftermath of Sunday's news was current Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin. And before you laugh that one off, there's actually a lot of merit to the possibilty.
Fisher was supposed to be an offensive mind to elevate the Aggies, but Kiffin might actually be more what the program was looking for. Whether at Alabama as offensive coordinator, FAU as head coach or now with the Rebels, we've consistently seen Kiffin scheme up offensive attacks that, in the simplest terms, elevate good players to be great and average players to look good.
For the past few years, we've seen the opposite taking place in College Station, with 5-star and 4-star talents performing like 3-stars. Giving Kiffin these types of resources to institute his system, work the transfer portal, and make the most might be the thing that both the head coach himself and Texas A&M need to each get over the remaining hurdles hindering their legacies.
4. Jeff Traylor may actually be Texas A&M's best Jiimbo replacement
Undoubtedly the most underrated possible candidate to replace Jimbo Fisher might be Jeff Traylor, the current head coach at UTSA. Despite that, he might actually be one of the legitimate best choices to be the next head coach at Texas A&M.
Traylor is a Texas native who got his coaching start in the lucrative high school ranks before breaking into the college ranks as an assistant with Texas. He then spent time on staffs at SMU and Arkansas as an assistant before taking the UTSA job in 2020. Since then, all he's done is go 35-14 and win Conference USA twice, which isn't too bad.
To keep the recruiting boom going at A&M, few coaches are better suited than Traylor. He's immensely respected in high school coaching circles in the state of Texas and he's proven an eye for talent with the Roadrunners. Given his state ties, all of that would seem to fit quite well with the Aggies.
3. Texas A&M fans will want Urban Meyer to save the Aggies
Let's get this out of the way: Urban Meyer has been adamant essentially since his dismissal from the Jacksonville Jaguars that he has no desire to return to coaching. But if Texas A&M hands him a blank check, you have to wonder if that Big Noon Kickoff desk would look quite as appealing as it does right now.
You can't argue with the success of Meyer at the college level. He has an overall record of 187-32 in his career, including going 65-15 at Florida and 83-9 at Ohio State, winning three national championships over that time from 2005-18 as well. He's an ace recruiter that could keep that rolling in College Station, and he would basically be able to handpick anyone he wanted for his staff.
The big hangup for Meyer would, again, be if he wants to get back into coaching. I have no way of knowing that. But at the bare minimum, Texas A&M should make him say no, because Meyer has proven that he can win anywhere he goes.
2. Dan Lanning returning to the SEC could save Texas A&M
Another name that was immediately linked to Texas A&M was current Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning. Only in his second season in Eugene after serving as the Georgia defensive coordinator for three years, Lanning has immediately hit the ground running with a 19-4 record with the Ducks.
Lanning has checked every box you'd want while looking to replace Jimbo Fisher. He's an impeccable recruiter at the top levels, whether at Georgia or Oregon, a true leader that exudes tremendous energy on the sidelines and in the locker room, and has proven to be a smart head coach in terms of game management and analytical decision-making.
Still just 37 years old, Lanning looks like the right guy for any job that he would want. Would he rather return to the SEC with Oregon about to move to the Big Ten? Or would he rather stay put? That might be the only question standing in the way of the Aggies landing Lanning.
1. Mike Elko is the obvious Jimbo Fisher replacement for the Aggies
It's probably not a coincidence that Texas A&M has started to dramatically decline under Jimbo Fisher the past two years after former defensive coordinator Mike Elko took the head coaching job at Duke. Similarly, that narrative is furthered by the fact that Duke has enjoyed unfamiliar success immediately since Elko arrived, going 15-8 at a program not used to that on the gridiron.
Elko has proven at every stop in his coaching career that he's a tremendous defensive mind, which would obviously help Texas A&M rebound on that side of the ball. However, when you also throw in his eye for talent and his ability to avoid the pitfalls of many defensive-minded coaches by letting his staff run proper offense, he's just a damn good football coach.
With his success immediately as a Power 5 head coach and familiarity with the Aggies program, no one should be shocked to learn that Elko is one of the top replacements for Jimbo, if not the No. 1 candidate.
