NCAAF teams
Sam Khan Jr., ESPN Staff Writer 6y

Jimbo Fisher says Texas A&M move was 'no-brainer'

College Football, Texas A&M Aggies

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- After making a move last week that many in college football deemed surprising, new Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said it was a "no-brainer" to go to Aggieland. 

During his official introduction on Monday at Kyle Field, Fisher said he originally didn't plan to leave Florida State, where he went 83-23 and won a BCS national championship, but all the factors -- including his relationship with the school's athletic director, Scott Woodward -- working in Texas A&M's favor made sense.

"I never had any intention of leaving Florida State," Fisher said. "As I researched Texas A&M and all the things it had here and the resources it had here and the vision it had here and the people it had here, from the president to the chancellor to the board of regents and everyone together as a oneness...and then my relationship with Scott, the ability to come back and work and relive that vision of things that we had did before at LSU, I think it was a no-brainer in a crazy way.

"And, again, my time at Florida State, I love it; it was phenomenal; it was a tremendous place. But in our life, there's opportunities out there you see."

Fisher and Woodward were both at LSU in the early 2000s. Fisher was an assistant for the Tigers from 2000 to '06 and Woodward worked in the administration there from 2000 to '04. Asked if he would have taken the A&M job if Woodward wasn't there, Fisher said Monday "probably not."

Texas A&M's commitment to football in the way of finances and facilities -- the school had the largest athletics budget in the country in the 2015-16 school year and has spent more than $500 million on football facility upgrades in the last five years -- was a significant attraction, Fisher said.

Fisher won't coach the Belk Bowl, where the Aggies will play later this month vs. Wake Forest. That will be up to interim coach Jeff Banks and the remaining Texas A&M staff. Fisher was set to meet with the current players and coaches on Monday before he makes decisions on his coaching staff. He plans to hit the recruiting trail on Tuesday in advance of the early national signing period, which begins Dec. 20. Fisher said he hasn't looked at the Aggies' roster extensively, but after seeing a few games, "there are a lot of good players here."

The Aggies had no problems committing financially to Fisher, giving him a 10-year, $75 million fully guaranteed contract. The school's board of regents approved the contract Monday morning and regents chair Charles Schwartz noted that no state funds will be used to pay Fisher.

That brings high expectations. Texas A&M chancellor John Sharp, when asked how soon he hopes the team competes for national championships under Fisher, said Monday "Oh I don't know, last year would be fine." Fisher himself has a similar timetable, saying "yesterday" would be a reasonable time frame to turn a good program into an elite one. "Listen," he said, "I'm not a very patient guy."

"I take Texas A&M to somewhere they haven't been, and that's the champion of the SEC," he said.

He emphasized the process and the culture he believes must be in place for it to happen, and he said he expects the Aggies to compete for the ultimate prize regularly.

"That's my goal, and that's the object and the mission which we're about," he said. "That's our whole objective in everything we do. Our whole goal is to win a national championship every year and always will be."

^ Back to Top ^