It is no secret that Jimbo Fisher and Nick Saban have taken the world of college football by storm.
On Saturday, Oct. 9, the two SEC powerhouse coaches will meet again, with Fisher seeking his first-ever win against his former boss. He and Saban are two out of five active head coaches with national titles under their belts and are responsible for dozens of active players on NFL rosters.
These two opposing coaches have plenty of winning seasons separately, but it all started with their first national championship together. In 2003, then-Louisiana State head coach Saban and offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Fisher led the Tigers to a 13-1 season and a national title. The coaches split the following year, with Fisher taking on the role of offensive coordinator at Florida State under head coach Bobby Bowden before winning a national championship as head coach with quarterback Jameis Winston in 2013.
In his statement declaring for the 2015 NFL Draft, Winston said Fisher helped shape him on and off the field.
“To the coaching staff and especially Coach Fisher, I am forever grateful for the ways you developed me as a player and a person as I have grown over the years,” Winston said. “I knew I made the right decision to come to Florida State.”
When looking at matchups between successful coaches, not many, including Fisher, can say they have beaten Saban.
In fact, none of Saban’s former assistant-turned-head coaches have beat him as he holds a 24-0 record against them. However, Fisher has edged closer in a different aspect — money.
With Fisher’s recently announced extension, his $9 million-per-year contract places him right behind Saban’s $10.6 million agreement, making them the two highest paid coaches in all of NCAA football history.
Saban is arguably the best coach college football has ever seen. With seven national championships, hundreds of wins and 40 years of coaching experience, his record of success speaks for itself. Before his time at Alabama, Saban spent four years as head coach at LSU and two seasons coaching the National Football League’s Miami Dolphins. In his last 13 seasons, he has finished inside the AP Top 10 consecutively and compiled a 125-14 record with the Crimson Tide.
At this week’s press conference, Fisher said Saban has built an impressive program.
“It’s extraordinary. He’s built a great culture there,” Fisher said. “They understand how to win. They are extremely talented, but they are also very fundamentally sound. They do the ordinary things very, very well.”
Fisher’s ability to turn programs around is sensational. At both FSU and A&M, he arrived to mediocrity, then turned both organizations into top-10 teams by Year 3. During the 2013 season, Fisher steered FSU to a national championship, and in the 2020-2021 season, pushed A&M into the playoff conversation and a No. 5 finish. In his 12 years of coaching, he sits at a 112-35 record and is building a culture of overcoming adversity at A&M.
Saban said Fisher also has a strong coaching mentality.
“This is a very challenging game against a very good team,” Saban said. “They have 15 starters coming back from one of the best teams in the country last year. Jimbo [Fisher] does a great job getting his team ready to play, and he’s a very good offensive play caller.”
The two legends of Saturday football will meet once again in Aggieland to battle it out. Combining their salaries, the coaches make close to $20 million a year, making it the most expensive coaching matchup in college football history. The battle between A&M and Alabama’s successful coaches will kick off at 7 p.m. in Kyle Field.