Jimbo Fisher reflects on lesson learned from Nick Saban feud
Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher and Alabama head coach Nick Saban both discussed lessons learned from their very public offseason spat at SEC Media Days this week. The two appeared to bury the hatchet at spring meetings in Destin and they definitely had their scripts turned to the same page in Atlanta.
“Same thing,” Fisher said after pressed for takeaways from the drama. “You get two competitive guys who have disagreements and opinions or whatever and we both voice them publicly, which is the first time both of us has ever done that. We both can grow from that. Hopefully, we will.”
Fisher added that he and Saban have been friends for a very long time, reiterating the respect he has for the seven-time national championship-winning head coach.
“I have great respect for Nick,” Fisher said. “Unfortunately, our thing went public and sometimes that happens in this world. Nothing’s private anymore is it? But I have great respect for Nick. And we all learned from it. I have great respect for him and the program like always.”
The two coaches face off on Oct. 8 this season. The offseason feud and last year’s upset by the Aggies make it one of the most hyped games of the year.
Fisher clarifies viral video of Texas A&M staffer
Amidst the Jimbo Fisher vs. Nick Saban NIL feud, a piece of “evidence” surfaced seemingly validating Saban’s claims.
In a clip posted to Twitter, one of the Aggies’ recruiting personnel made a comment regarding the seats at Kyle Field. It specifically came across that those who sit in the upper seats would be willing to pay the recruits money if they were to play for the Aggies.
Fisher addressed the video on Thursday during his press conference at SEC Media Days.
“No, that’s not what he said,” Fisher said. “He was a young guy that’d been there about a month. What he meant was the guys behind those seats are what pay for your program. Those are donators and boosters is how he meant it and how he spoke.”
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The video triggered more calls that A&M had utilized NIL unethically to obtain the No. 1 class in On3’s 2022 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings.
“Do we all have NIL? Yes we do. That is what he was meaning. It’s a thing we say with all recruits,” said Fisher. “The guys behind those seats are the guys who pay for our program and what we do. That’s what it was. He’d been there one month.”
On3’s Stephen Samra contributed to this report.