Seriously, Why Would Jimbo Fisher Leave Florida State for Texas A&M?

The news in Texas this morning is that Texas A&M is very much about to fire Kevin Sumlin, and wishes very much to hire Jimbo Fisher to replace him.

I can understand why Texas A&M would want Jimbo Fisher. I can understand why just about anybody would want Jimbo Fisher. He’s been a national champion as a coordinator (2003) and a head coach (2013), and in eight seasons at Florida State, he has had six 10-win seasons and three with at least 12 wins. He’s a superstar, and he’s only 52.

All else being equal, you’d have to be one of the best programs in the country to hire Jimbo Fisher, and Texas A&M is something other than that.

But maybe all else isn’t equal. That’s what the Aggies seem to be counting on.

From the Houston Chronicle:

"In the days after Texas A&M blew a 34-point lead in the Aggies’ season opener at UCLA, a longtime A&M insider told the Chronicle, “Remember the name Jimbo Fisher.” In the couple of months since, the insider and eventually others have not wavered in their belief that the sought-after Florida State coach will succeed Kevin Sumlin at A&M."

According to the Chronicle, the Aggies are pinning their hopes on a couple of factors: (1)  A pre-existing relationship between Fisher and Texas A&M athletic director Scott Woodward from their time at LSU in the middle of the last decade, and (2) Fisher’s having a young son with a life-threatening medical condition, and nearby Houston’s having a world-class medical center.

"A person familiar with the entire process said while Fisher is divorced, his former wife and two young sons would also be willing to leave Tallahassee, Fla., to be closer to the father in his new job. The youngest son has Fanconi anemia, a life-threatening medical condition, and Houston’s expansive medical center is considered one of the best in the world."

At the risk of being Freezing Cold Take’d, that sounds like a message-board delusion to me, one level below, “Back up the Brinks truck to Bill Belichick’s house and make him tell you no.”

Also, there is the matter of Fisher’s $40 million buyout.

But set that aside for a second and just consider the programs we’re talking about here. Even if you’re being generous, Florida State to Texas A&M is not even a lateral move. In the last 25 years, Florida State has 15 conference championships, three Heisman winners and three national titles. In the last 25 years, Texas A&M has one conference championship (Big 12, 1998), one Heisman winner, and a bunch of cool uniforms.

Maybe Jimbo Fisher really likes Scott Woodward, doesn’t think much of the medical community in Florida and would be willing to take on a lesser job because of it.

Yeah, maybe.