Bruce Feldman: Steve Sarkisian beating Alabama played a role in Texas A&M firing Jimbo Fisher

Texas A&M moving on from Jimbo Fisher was almost an obvious decision from a football standpoint. As athletic director Ross Bjork put it, the Aggies were stuck in neutral with no real way to move forward. Eating the contract buyout and attempting to get a new leader to College Station was what Bjork thought was the best move forward.

The question with firing Fisher was always when not if. Multiple factors played into the timing for Texas A&M and according to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, one of them was the success Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns are enduring this season.

“Steve Sarkisian comes in there and in half the time that Jimbo has been on the job,” Feldman said during Monday’s episode of The Paul Finebaum Show. “He goes into Tuscaloosa and they take it to Alabama and beat them. And [Texas] is looking like a team that is going to go to the playoff. A&M didn’t even go to a bowl game last year.

“Jimbo Fisher had what a lot of recruiting observers said was the highest-rated recruiting class in the country,” Feldman said. “They haven’t won a road game in over two years now.”

Texas A&M got three shots at Alabama in Tuscaloosa, losing all of them and by an average of 18 points. Playing at Kyle Field helped a little bit, getting a famous win during the 2021 season. Outside of that though, Fisher was not too successful against Nick Saban.

Fisher was able to take down other schools in the SEC West, most notably getting a few wins against LSU. Auburn was an opponent Texas A&M fared well against while they dominated the Southwest Classic vs. Arkansas for years.

But when Alabama is the standard in the division, it was always the game circled on the calendar. Fisher never got over that hump and Sarkisian got the job done while Texas A&M continued to crumble.

Direction of Texas program helped make decision for Texas A&M

As Feldman mentioned, the Alabama game was not the only factor Texas A&M may have taken into consideration when it came to their in-state rival. Sarkisian has the program trending in the right direction in his third season in charge, just before they join the Aggies in the SEC.

Sure, Year One for Sarkisian resulted in 5-7 — something Texas A&M did last season. But the Longhorns have bounced back well and with two games remaining, they are squarely in the College Football Playoff mix.

Fisher believes Texas A&M should have been in the CFP discussion back in 2020 but for the most part, Texas A&M was not on the national scene when November rolled around.

Make no mistake about it. The game next season between Texas and Texas A&M is an important one for both sides. After a 12-year hiatus, the Lone Star Showdown will be played on a football field and winning will be of the utmost importance.

Bjork was asked if Texas and Oklahoma coming into the SEC played a factor but reaffirmed the idea of wanting to set Texas A&M up better for the future. However, Bjork had made his stance about the Texas game clear in the past, wanting it to be played in College Station.

The SEC gave him his wish as the two will renew the rivalry at Kyle Field. We now just wait for a date, where the new Texas A&M head coach — whoever it may be — will have a huge litmus test early in his tenure.