Paul Finebaum: Jimbo Fisher just can't stay out of his own way

Another week is in the books, and Jimbo Fisher and the Texas A&M Aggies have picked up another loss. This time out the Aggies lost to Alabama, the No. 1 ranked team at the time of the game. But with two consecutive defeats and now three losses on the season, ESPN and SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum has some heavy criticism for Fisher.

Finebaum joined ESPN’s Matt Barrie to recap Week 6 of college football, where he assessed how Saturday’s loss to Alabama will impact the view on Fisher. While Finebaum believes some will be optimistic about losing a one-possession came to one of the top teams in the country in a game that came down to the final second, he also thinks that frustration is continuing to build up in College Station.

“I think that will be it, Matt,” Finebaum said. “I think mostly you’ll hear good from that part of the world because of what almost happened. I don’t think any result other than winning would have moved the needle very much for Jimbo Fisher. You look at the defense and say this could really be good, there’s enormous talent here. You don’t know what to make of the offense.”

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Finebaum: Sometimes Jimbo Fisher can’t stay out of his own way

Texas A&M is now 3-3 on the season, with losses against Appalachian State, Mississippi State and Alabama. The Aggies’ three wins came against Sam Houston, Miami and Arkansas, although the Miami and Arkansas games were decided by a single possession.

Regardless, the losses continue to pile up on a team that had higher expectations entering the season. As frustration builds, Finebaum said that Fisher is a large reason why. He then went on to criticize some postgame comments from Fisher, and called for him to stop making excuses.

“Sometimes Jimbo just can’t stay out of his own way,” said Finebaum. “When he was reacting to all of the people they didn’t have in the game – ‘We didn’t have the left tackle, we didn’t have this guy, and we had a backup quarterback’ – is truly one of the most disingenuous comments I’ve ever heard. When you just have to go back six weeks to remember that Haynes King was the starting quarterback by Jimbo Fisher’s decision. And now he’s trying to match Nick Saban for excuses by saying they had a backup quarterback. Only for those who don’t follow Texas A&M football, because Texas A&M’s backup quarterback got hurt.

“But that’s Jimbo. I don’t think there will be a net gain or loss other than the fact that he now has three losses. That’s the hard part. And he almost has to roll the rest of the season I think with only one more just to escape just with a typical Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M 8-4 record. Nothing is going to matter at the end of the season. Jimbo Fisher is going to turn the page to next year regardless of what the record is here. If you’re an optimist, you saw some optimism [Saturday] night. But if you’re on his back, you’re piling up the chips against him.”