Now that Kevin Sumlin is out as Texas A&M’s head coach, the million-dollar — or multi-million-dollar — question remains: Who will be the Aggies’ next coach?
Ramblings, reports and rumors suggest Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher is athletic director Scott Woodward’s top target, and it seems that A&M has a very realistic chance to land the Seminoles’ head coach.
Fisher and Florida State continue to have disagreements on certain items, particularly facilities, and A&M could provide Fisher the amenities he desires, as well as a nice pay raise.
Woodward also made it clear that Sumlin’s replacement will be one he believes can lead the Aggies to a championship, and added that a tight-knit coaching search means things will remain rather quiet until the next head coach is named.
In eight seasons at Florida State, Fisher is 82-23. He has led the Seminoles to a national title in 2013 and three ACC crowns.
The timing of firing Sumlin and potentially hiring Fisher is tricky though, as Florida State is set to make up a previously scheduled game against UL-Monroe next Saturday, which was canceled in September due to Hurricane Irma — a game that could make the Seminoles eligible for a bowl game later on
Due to this, Fisher is unlikely to get up and leave his team before their regular-season finale, which means A&M may be in limbo and without a permanent head coach for at least a week.
It would make sense for the Aggies to go ahead and make a move one way or another despite Fisher’s situation as recruiting begins to heat up, especially with the new early-signing period less than a month away.
But the move indicates that A&M has advanced discussions on what it will do moving forward. Woodward and the powers that be would not have opened the head coaching vacancy without having a near-certain replacement for Sumlin.
If it is Fisher, one would expect a formal announcement toward the end of next weekend or the following Monday. That time-table could change, but that seems to be the target point of A&M’s next move.
But if Fisher fails, the Aggies will need to look elsewhere quickly, especially with the amount of top-tier programs — and fellow SEC opponents — looking to fill similar vacancies. A short-list of names to follow would likely include Justin Fuente at Virginia Tech and SMU’s Chad Morris, an A&M alumn.
The bottom line is that Woodward & Co. likely already have something in place, and have for a while. Woodward made his intentions and expectations of A&M’s head coach clear months ago, and could likely see where things were headed after the Aggies’ loss to Mississippi State. That in turn has given him plenty of time to work behind the scenes and get things done in an orderly manner.
Time will tell how things play out in Aggieland, but Woodward knows what he is doing and will have things settled soon.