Boom! There it is.
Most of the signs the past few days have been pointing toward Jimbo Fisher leaving Florida State for the same job at Texas A&M. Overnight, it was reported that A&M was prepared to offer Fisher a 10-year deal worth in the neighborhood of $75 million.
Friday afternoon, and following this ominous sign...
#FSU coach Jimbo Fisher has put his Christmas tree outside his house to be picked up as garbage pic.twitter.com/N0pgrdL0bN
— Wayne McGahee III (@WayneMcGaheeIII) December 1, 2017
... those rumors unofficially came to fruition as both the Tallahassee Democrat and TomahawkNation.com are reporting that has agreed to become the new head coach at A&M. ESPN.com‘s Mark Schlabach is reporting that Fisher has resigned his position and, contrary to reports from Thursday night, he won’t coach the Seminoles in their regular-season finale Saturday.
Jimbo Fisher has resigned as FSU's coach and will be named the new coach at Texas A&M, sources told ESPN. He will not coach in Saturday's regular-season finale against Louisiana-Monroe. FSU is planning a news conference for this afternoon
— Mark Schlabach (@Mark_Schlabach) December 1, 2017
Fisher replaces Kevin Sumlin, who was fired by the Aggies last weekend. FSU, meanwhile, is expected to hold a news conference Friday afternoon to discuss Fisher’s departure and officially announce long-time defensive line coach Odell Haggins as interim head coach
The start to Fisher’s new job could prove challenging as A&M will face defending national champion Clemson in Week 2 and then go up against his old boss Nick Saban and Alabama. In Tuscaloosa.
Fisher spent the past 11 seasons with the Seminoles, the last eight as head coach. In that span, FSU went 83-23 overall and 48-17 in ACC play. The ‘Noles won three conference titles, four Atlantic Division crowns and the 2013 national championship. Their last conference title came in 2014, with the season bottoming out at 5-6 heading into Saturday’s game against Louisiana-Monroe.
If Fisher had remained in Tallahassee, he would’ve been expected to make significant changes to his coaching staff, something he has been loathe to do. Fisher had also publicly applied pressure to the university to improve its football facilities.
With Fisher out, FSU is expected to turn its attention to Oregon’s Willie Taggart or the man Fisher is replacing in College Station. Sumlin would also be a candidate for the Oregon job if Taggart, a Florida native, jumps at the opportunity to return home after one season in Eugene.