Paul Finebaum: Texas A&M job opening 'not elite' opportunity

After the Aggies parted ways with Jimbo Fisher on Sunday, Texas A&M became the biggest job opening in college football. Even so, Paul Finebaum doesn’t view the opportunity in College Station as a top notch one.

Finebaum spoke about the vacant head coaching position at Texas A&M during a segment on SportsCenter on Monday. To him, it’s a decent gig that clearly has a monetary aspect that’s worthwhile. However, in comparison to other programs across the country, it’s not a situation that he sees among the best of the best.

“Well, it’s not one of the elite,” said Finebaum. “It’s a really good school and they obviously have a lot of money based on the fact that Jimbo Fisher was paid $76 million to go away after an abject failure. But they are not on the same level as Ohio State, Alabama, Notre Dame – schools like that.”

“They’re a good school and they can pay a lot of money. But they’re not elite,” Finebaum said.

There are a lot of things going for the Aggies as a program that could eventually be at that top tier. Their status as a member of the SEC is a plus right off the bat. They also clearly have the resources to be team that recruits and posts a win total at a rate that’s around the ballpark of eight as they have over the past decade.

Still, there’s a reason that Texas A&M paid a historic buyout to relieve Fisher of his duties. They wanted to take the next step and, after the past two seasons, they no longer saw Fisher as the man to help them to do that.

The question now, at least according to Finebaum, is whether they’re even capable of making that jump as a program at all.

Finebaum still believes Texas A&M can be ‘elite’ with right coach

However, Finebaum also doesn’t believe the future is necessarily that bleak inside Kyle Field.

While he doesn’t believe that it’s an elite job at the moment, he did say on ‘The Matt Barrie Show’ on Sunday that Texas A&M could eventually reach that level depending on who they choose as Fisher’s replacement.

“I think we were talking about A&M, what kind of school it is? I still believe it can be elite. But it has to have the right coach,” said Finebaum. “Jimbo Fisher was just going to the most expensive store on Fifth Avenue and buying the most expensive clothes and thinking that’s going to get you in the after party at a Taylor Swift concert. It just doesn’t work. It doesn’t matter what kind of car you drove up in – you’re still not getting in.”