Bruce Feldman: Texas A&M willing to pay monster buyout if Jimbo Fisher doesn’t finish strong

Texas A&M is off to another rough start on the heels of a poor season overall in 2022 — which has folks around the Aggies’ program considering a push to buy out Jimbo Fisher.

At least, that’s what college football insider Bruce Feldman reported on Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff Saturday morning ahead of A&M’s game against Louisiana-Monroe. While fans entered the season with some hope, any remaining goodwill with Fisher was dashed by the defeat he took in Coral Gables last week.

“There was some optimism. Five of the first six games were at home. The one road game last week, at unranked Miami, and got outplayed, out-coached. They got whipped,” said Feldman, noting that Fisher’s buyout, while massive, is something A&M could consider paying if this season doesn’t turn around in a big way.

“Now Jimbo is 1-7 in his last eight against power five opponents. The buyout is huge: $77 million. But I’m told: he doesn’t get it going this year, A&M will find that money,” said Feldman. “As the source told me this week, look, it’s year six, what’s another 8-4 season gonna prove at this point?”

8-4 is a stark improvement over the 2022 season, but it’s still far from the goal in College Station, especially when you look at the strides rival Texas is making under their third-year head coach.

“One other thing that has made it really interesting: the arch-rival, the team they hate more than anything, Texas, they’re looking like a national title contender and Steve Sarkisian has only been on the job half as long as Jimbo Fisher has,” Feldman added.

The pressure is ON for Coach Fisher and Texas A&M the rest of the way in 2023.

Paul Finebaum explains to Feldman that Texas is taking over the state

College football analyst Paul Finebaum joined Bruce Feldman and Stewart Mandel on ‘The Audible with Stew & Bruce’ and spoke about the future of Fisher with the Aggies. And Finebaum believes that what’s currently happening in Austin, Texas could have an impact on Fisher’s future in College Station.

“I was out Friday night at a rooftop bar, [Nick] Saban‘s hotel by the way, in Tuscaloosa with Texas people. And I haven’t spent that much time with Texas people, but I mean I was shocked. There was money coming off of everybody in that group, it was all Texas,” Finebaum said.

“And what’s going on in Austin is really going to really bug people in College Station, they do not like the idea of them giving Texas a road map to come in the SEC and have them be better than them,” Finebaum said. “So I don’t think they’ll tolerate it, so I know I haven’t quite answered your question, but if this number is below nine or eight [wins], I don’t know how in the world he [Fisher] would survive.”