Cole Cubelic reveals interesting concerns about Jimbo Fisher, Bobby Petrino at Texas A&M
One of the biggest storylines in the SEC this season — if not all of college football — will be the dynamic between Jimbo Fisher and Bobby Petrino at Texas A&M. After last season’s struggles on offense, Fisher brought in the former Arkansas head coach to take over as offensive coordinator.
Of course, Arkansas wasn’t Petrino’s only stop in the SEC. He also worked as the offensive coordinator at Auburn, which is where he coached Cole Cubelic. The current SEC Network analyst talked about the concerns he has about the Aggies this season, and he made it clear he doesn’t think the relationship between Petrino and Fisher will be the problem.
It has to do with the reaction to what Fisher says about the offense, especially after his comments about play-calling before spring practice.
“The frustration that was shown by those questions being asked before spring practice even started, that concerns me a little bit,” Cubelic said on The Paul Finebaum Show on Wednesday. “Because you know like I know, it’s gonna be asked about all the time. And when things go haywire for a quarter or a series or a game or a three-game stretch, those questions are going to be hammered at that point.
“So if he doesn’t like answering those questions now, what’s it going to be like if they do struggle out of the gate for two or three games? And they’ve got Miami early on the road. It’s going to be a difficult game against Mario Cristobal and the team that’s got a lot of talent. So that concerns me a little bit.”
As spring ball got underway, Fisher told reporters “we’ll go through that as we go” regarding play-calling and also said to plan on Petrino calling plays. Those comments raised some eyebrows at the time, and Cubelic said the outside reaction might have more reason for concern than the remarks themselves.
That said, he doesn’t think the relationship between Fisher and Petrino is concerning from an on-field standpoint.
“Listen, I played for Jimbo. He was my offensive coordinator at Auburn. I’ve known him for a long time and I have a pretty good feel for just how he is and what he is and his demeanor,” Cubelic said. “And I think a lot of people jumped to a lot of conclusions after that initial press conference in the spring. There are some guys that were trying to catch him saying one thing or not committing to something. I didn’t take any of that as ‘Oh, well he’s not gonna let Bobby Petrino call plays.’ That, to me, is not an issue.
“You don’t bring Bobby Petrino in if you’re going to try to share it or split it or not run it a certain way. It’s going to be his offense. Now, Jimbo has a lot to say about it.”