COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M’s pursuit of a national title never really was about 2022, despite an inflated preseason ranking by Associated Press poll voters and click-minded pundits trying to catch Aggies’ eyes with sweet nothings amounting to nothing.
To the realists who follow the program closely it was always about 2023 on the title hunt, primarily based on drawing Alabama at Kyle Field next year and a maturing roster of five-star talent, and it still can be even after the Aggies stunningly lost at home to Appalachian State in Week 2 of 2022. That, however, will require a big gulp and a gigantic digesting of pride on the part of coach Jimbo Fisher. We’ll find out by next September if Fisher, 56, is capable of each. Meantime the No. 24 Aggies, down 18 spots from No. 6 a week ago, host No. 13 Miami at 8 p.m. Saturday at Kyle Field.
Mirroring the longtime saying around the Dallas Cowboys that when Jerry Jones the owner fires Jerry Jones the general manager, the Cowboys might compete in a Super Bowl again — when Fisher the head coach demotes Fisher the play-caller, the Aggies might get rolling again on offense.
We’re not saying the offensive game has passed Fisher by … but the offensive game has passed Fisher by (OK, we said it). Numbers don’t lie. Two games in, the Aggies rank outside the top 100 in total offense (103rd with 339 yards per game) despite opening with Sam Houston and Appalachian State, neither of which contend in the wild SEC West.
Since the 2015 regular season, when Fisher was in his sixth year at Florida State, he has one top-15 finish in total offense, and that was 15th in 2018 in his first season at A&M. He has zero top-15 finishes in the same span in scoring offense, with his highest 19th in 2018 at A&M.
After having a generational quarterback in FSU’s Jameis Winston in 2013 and 2014, Fisher’s since soft attack has finished 71st, 33rd, 72nd, 15th, 100th, 25th and 51st in total offense at FSU and A&M. He’s also finished 47th, 31st, 71st, 19th, 62nd, 37th and 56th in the same span in scoring offense, and currently ranks 100th (out of 131 FBS teams) in that ever-key category.
None of it is going to remind anyone of an innovative offensive mind, although Fisher gets plenty of credit for leading the Seminoles to a national title in 2013 with a high-powered attack. Also this: Frustrated A&M fans are to the point where they don’t care what he did in the Florida panhandle nearly a decade ago.
A&M’s shot-callers, in their eagerness to lock in a coach they believe will lead the Aggies to their first national title since 1939, a year ago reupped Fisher’s contract to its original 10 years and bumped him from $7.5 million annually to more than $9 million annually during LSU’s futile pursuit of its former offensive coordinator.
A&M also has allowed the oft-stubborn Fisher to have complete say over his program with no one to answer to from the time he arrived nearly five years ago, all while his offense bumbles around Kyle Field and beyond.
There are positives to Fisher’s tenure to date: The Aggies in 2020 earned their highest ranking in the final AP poll (fourth) since winning the national title in ’39, thanks primarily to then-coordinator Mike Elko’s strong defense (although it earned Fisher a big pay bump).
The Aggies have finished with a school record four consecutive top-10 recruiting classes (2019-2022), including the nation’s No. 1 class earlier this year, although that production must show up on the grass and not only in cyber projections.
Fisher’s fired predecessor at A&M, Kevin Sumlin, was 36-14 over his first 50 games with the Aggies, while Fisher is a game back at 35-15. But Fisher owns a better mark in SEC competition (21-12 to 17-15 in that similar four-year span) and a much better count in recruiting.
Sumlin’s fourth full recruiting class ranked 17th nationally in 2016, for example, and didn’t include a single five-star recruit. Fisher’s fourth full class finished first and included eight five-star prospects, more than Sumlin had combined in his five full recruiting classes.
So, here’s how Fisher can help himself, and although he doesn’t realize it, no one will hold it against him and his offensive acumen, in fact they might even applaud him: Hire a sharp mind for 2023 to coolly call plays from the sky, and let the emotional Fisher run the show in his animated manner on the ground among his charges. A decade ago Fisher’s on-again-off-again mentor, Nick Saban at Alabama, notably wondered, “Is this what we want football to be?” regarding up-tempo offenses.
And then Saban adopted one and hired a couple of sharp offensive minds along the way (save for maybe former Texans coach Bill O’Brien?), and the Crimson Tide have won four national titles since.
The Aggies have stockpiled four- and five-star talent on both sides of the ball under Fisher, but that window will close quickly if Fisher’s inept offense doesn’t start moving the ball or showing some sort of ingenuity, and frankly that ship seems to have sailed under Fisher.
He said this week he might consider turning over the play-calling at some point if it meant helping the Aggies win, and it’s no wonder. A&M is 0-3 against its last three FBS foes dating to last season (Appalachian State, LSU and Mississippi) and managed a lone touchdown on offense against Appalachian State — a team that allowed 63 points to North Carolina a week prior.
A miserable offense is the one big thing keeping the talented Aggies from championship contention. The offseason starting this winter will tell the tale if Fisher is serious about a title run in 2023. brent.zwerneman@chron.comtwitter.com/brentzwerneman
To the realists who follow the program closely it was always about 2023 on the title hunt, primarily based on drawing Alabama at Kyle Field next year and a maturing roster of five-star talent, and it still can be even after the Aggies stunningly lost at home to Appalachian State in Week 2 of 2022. That, however, will require a big gulp and a gigantic digesting of pride on the part of coach Jimbo Fisher. We’ll find out by next September if Fisher, 56, is capable of each. Meantime the No. 24 Aggies, down 18 spots from No. 6 a week ago, host No. 13 Miami at 8 p.m. Saturday at Kyle Field.
Mirroring the longtime saying around the Dallas Cowboys that when Jerry Jones the owner fires Jerry Jones the general manager, the Cowboys might compete in a Super Bowl again — when Fisher the head coach demotes Fisher the play-caller, the Aggies might get rolling again on offense.
We’re not saying the offensive game has passed Fisher by … but the offensive game has passed Fisher by (OK, we said it). Numbers don’t lie. Two games in, the Aggies rank outside the top 100 in total offense (103rd with 339 yards per game) despite opening with Sam Houston and Appalachian State, neither of which contend in the wild SEC West.
Since the 2015 regular season, when Fisher was in his sixth year at Florida State, he has one top-15 finish in total offense, and that was 15th in 2018 in his first season at A&M. He has zero top-15 finishes in the same span in scoring offense, with his highest 19th in 2018 at A&M.
After having a generational quarterback in FSU’s Jameis Winston in 2013 and 2014, Fisher’s since soft attack has finished 71st, 33rd, 72nd, 15th, 100th, 25th and 51st in total offense at FSU and A&M. He’s also finished 47th, 31st, 71st, 19th, 62nd, 37th and 56th in the same span in scoring offense, and currently ranks 100th (out of 131 FBS teams) in that ever-key category.
None of it is going to remind anyone of an innovative offensive mind, although Fisher gets plenty of credit for leading the Seminoles to a national title in 2013 with a high-powered attack. Also this: Frustrated A&M fans are to the point where they don’t care what he did in the Florida panhandle nearly a decade ago.
A&M’s shot-callers, in their eagerness to lock in a coach they believe will lead the Aggies to their first national title since 1939, a year ago reupped Fisher’s contract to its original 10 years and bumped him from $7.5 million annually to more than $9 million annually during LSU’s futile pursuit of its former offensive coordinator.
A&M also has allowed the oft-stubborn Fisher to have complete say over his program with no one to answer to from the time he arrived nearly five years ago, all while his offense bumbles around Kyle Field and beyond.
There are positives to Fisher’s tenure to date: The Aggies in 2020 earned their highest ranking in the final AP poll (fourth) since winning the national title in ’39, thanks primarily to then-coordinator Mike Elko’s strong defense (although it earned Fisher a big pay bump).
The Aggies have finished with a school record four consecutive top-10 recruiting classes (2019-2022), including the nation’s No. 1 class earlier this year, although that production must show up on the grass and not only in cyber projections.
Fisher’s fired predecessor at A&M, Kevin Sumlin, was 36-14 over his first 50 games with the Aggies, while Fisher is a game back at 35-15. But Fisher owns a better mark in SEC competition (21-12 to 17-15 in that similar four-year span) and a much better count in recruiting.
Sumlin’s fourth full recruiting class ranked 17th nationally in 2016, for example, and didn’t include a single five-star recruit. Fisher’s fourth full class finished first and included eight five-star prospects, more than Sumlin had combined in his five full recruiting classes.
So, here’s how Fisher can help himself, and although he doesn’t realize it, no one will hold it against him and his offensive acumen, in fact they might even applaud him: Hire a sharp mind for 2023 to coolly call plays from the sky, and let the emotional Fisher run the show in his animated manner on the ground among his charges. A decade ago Fisher’s on-again-off-again mentor, Nick Saban at Alabama, notably wondered, “Is this what we want football to be?” regarding up-tempo offenses.
And then Saban adopted one and hired a couple of sharp offensive minds along the way (save for maybe former Texans coach Bill O’Brien?), and the Crimson Tide have won four national titles since.
The Aggies have stockpiled four- and five-star talent on both sides of the ball under Fisher, but that window will close quickly if Fisher’s inept offense doesn’t start moving the ball or showing some sort of ingenuity, and frankly that ship seems to have sailed under Fisher.
He said this week he might consider turning over the play-calling at some point if it meant helping the Aggies win, and it’s no wonder. A&M is 0-3 against its last three FBS foes dating to last season (Appalachian State, LSU and Mississippi) and managed a lone touchdown on offense against Appalachian State — a team that allowed 63 points to North Carolina a week prior.
A miserable offense is the one big thing keeping the talented Aggies from championship contention. The offseason starting this winter will tell the tale if Fisher is serious about a title run in 2023. brent.zwerneman@chron.comtwitter.com/brentzwerneman
