Nick Saban reacts to Jimbo Fisher, Zach Arnett being fired

Texas A&M and Mississippi State squared off this weekend in a matchup that ended with the Aggies getting a dominant 51-10 win over the Bulldogs. But as of Monday, the head coaches of both teams are no longer with the program with both Jimbo Fisher and Zach Arnett being fired in the following days after the game.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban coached against both Arnett and Fisher this season, respectively handing each of the two losses, and in his press conference on Monday, Saban was asked for his thoughts on the two being fired.

“I don’t ever like to see anybody get let go, whatever you want to call it, in this business,” Saban said. “I know how hard everybody works, I know how difficult it is to sort of build a program, to get players to compete at a high level on a consistent basis, and just have a lot of respect for people who really work hard to try to change the lives of the guys that they’re coaching. Make them better, help them do the right things in terms of getting an education as well as trying to develop them on the football field.”

Fisher is a member of Saban’s coaching tree, serving as his quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator during his five-year tenure as LSU‘s head coach. Fisher would go on to become Florida State‘s head coach leading the Seminoles to three ACC Championship wins and a national title win before become the head coach at Texas A&M.

Fisher was unable to take the Aggies to those same championship heights, fired in the midst of his sixth season with the Aggies. Arnett on the other hand was just in his first season with Mississippi State, becoming the team’s interim head coach last season following the unfortunate death of Mike Leach last December.

The interim title was removed soon after as he became the Bulldogs’ 35th head coach, but Arnett was fired Monday with two games remaining in the regular season after leading the team to a 4-6 record with just one conference win on their resume this season.

“But we are in a business that you get evaluated based on outcomes and your performance and I hate to see anybody have to go through this,” Saban said. “I’ve been fired before, it’s no fun, it’s no fun for your family, but I’m sure that both those guys have great reputations in terms of what they’ve been able to accomplish over the course of their career and I’m sure they’ll have many more opportunities to be successful in the future.”