The crusade continues ... this one is pretty blistering ...
Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher did not mince words Wednesday when asked about the impact of NIL compensation on the NCAA transfer portal, becoming the latest coach to allege widespread tampering in the form of schools incentivizing players to transfer for monetary gain. Like several others in the sport, SEC Network's Paul Finebaum was quick to call out the Aggies coach, claiming that Fisher is a "diminished figure" after Texas A&M finished 5-7 this season. The Aggies also lead the nation with 24 players in the transfer portal.
"The problem with (NIL), all of it, is that there is no consistency and rules," Fisher said. "And then when you get into the (transfer portal), there is so much tampering going on. It is utterly ridiculous. It is a joke. It's an absolute joke. We are only in college football. I heard (UTSA coach Jeff Traylor) the other day say that everybody was robbing their players and taking their players. This is not good for college football, as far as how it's done. I'm not saying being able to transfer is bad. I'm not saying paying players is bad. But the current status of the rules and the way it's done and how it's done? It's ridiculous. It's here. Everybody has the same issues and same problems."
Finebaum didn't buy what Fisher was trying to sell. "That is the sound of a coach who got his brains beat in all year long on the field and, to a certain degree, in recruiting this year," Finebaum said Tuesday on McElroy and Cubelic In The Morning. "I didn't hear that Jimbo Fisher a year ago. What I heard was, 'Hey, I don't know how NIL works. I have no idea. We do it honestly.' He is a diminished figure."
Finebaum says Fisher's stance on NIL would be different had Texas A&M not struggled this season. "This is a guy who was at the epicenter of the sport a year ago," Finebaum said. "He had the best recruiting class in college football history. He was knocking on the door of a serious run over the next two years. Last year it looked like they had a shot at the playoffs, and 2023 looked like a sure thing. Now he is coming from behind. He is sniveling, whining, and talking about the same thing that we have all been talking about for two years. It sounds really hollow."
Fisher's program was accused this past spring of using NIL to incentivize signings in the Aggies' record-setting 2022 singing class. Alabama head coach Nick Saban alleged in May that Texas A&M "bought" its 2022 class, a claim which Fisher did not take lightly. The Texas A&M coach fired back at Saban in a press conference that same week, claiming he was "done" with his former boss at LSU.
Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher did not mince words Wednesday when asked about the impact of NIL compensation on the NCAA transfer portal, becoming the latest coach to allege widespread tampering in the form of schools incentivizing players to transfer for monetary gain. Like several others in the sport, SEC Network's Paul Finebaum was quick to call out the Aggies coach, claiming that Fisher is a "diminished figure" after Texas A&M finished 5-7 this season. The Aggies also lead the nation with 24 players in the transfer portal.
"The problem with (NIL), all of it, is that there is no consistency and rules," Fisher said. "And then when you get into the (transfer portal), there is so much tampering going on. It is utterly ridiculous. It is a joke. It's an absolute joke. We are only in college football. I heard (UTSA coach Jeff Traylor) the other day say that everybody was robbing their players and taking their players. This is not good for college football, as far as how it's done. I'm not saying being able to transfer is bad. I'm not saying paying players is bad. But the current status of the rules and the way it's done and how it's done? It's ridiculous. It's here. Everybody has the same issues and same problems."
Finebaum didn't buy what Fisher was trying to sell. "That is the sound of a coach who got his brains beat in all year long on the field and, to a certain degree, in recruiting this year," Finebaum said Tuesday on McElroy and Cubelic In The Morning. "I didn't hear that Jimbo Fisher a year ago. What I heard was, 'Hey, I don't know how NIL works. I have no idea. We do it honestly.' He is a diminished figure."
Finebaum says Fisher's stance on NIL would be different had Texas A&M not struggled this season. "This is a guy who was at the epicenter of the sport a year ago," Finebaum said. "He had the best recruiting class in college football history. He was knocking on the door of a serious run over the next two years. Last year it looked like they had a shot at the playoffs, and 2023 looked like a sure thing. Now he is coming from behind. He is sniveling, whining, and talking about the same thing that we have all been talking about for two years. It sounds really hollow."
Fisher's program was accused this past spring of using NIL to incentivize signings in the Aggies' record-setting 2022 singing class. Alabama head coach Nick Saban alleged in May that Texas A&M "bought" its 2022 class, a claim which Fisher did not take lightly. The Texas A&M coach fired back at Saban in a press conference that same week, claiming he was "done" with his former boss at LSU.
