The Jimbo Fisher-Bobby Petrino pairing reeks of poor process and desperation for Texas A&M

There were plenty of reasons why Texas A&M, ranked No. 5 in preseason polls, went 5-7 this fall, but chief among them, was the Aggies were impotent offensively. 

Texas A&M scored more than 28 points exactly once in the entire 2022 season vs. FBS opponents. The Aggies averaged 22.8 points per game, good for second-worst in the SEC. Despite a roster full of 4-and 5-stars, Texas A&M ranked 13th in the SEC in third-down offense, 11th in passing explosiveness and 88th overall nationally in total offensive success rate (39%). 

So with so much futility, even Jimbo Fisher’s Texas-sized ego couldn’t ignore the need for offensive changes in College Station this offseason. 

Despite downplaying his offense’s shortcomings after upsetting LSU to end the season — “There’s nothing wrong with what we’re doing.” —  Fisher finally admitted (although not publicly) that he needed some fresh ideas to pair with his antiquated scheme. He needed to ditch his Cheesecake Factory menu play sheet and was even willing to give up play-calling duties — something he’d done his entire career as a head coach.

Yet one informed decision certainly didn’t lead to another for the former championship head coach. 

Why on earth is Jimbo Fisher willingly tethering himself and Texas A&M to Bobby Petrino?

Fisher reportedly tried to poach offensive coordinator Garrett Riley away from TCU. That would’ve been a big, bold move for the Aggies. 

But that didn’t happen. He interviewed several other candidates, too, including Petrino, who left his head coaching job with Missouri State for the OC role at UNLV three weeks ago. 

That Fisher circled back to Petrino speaks of a poor process, limited interested candidates and a bad result for Texas A&M. 

There’s no way this is a long-term answer for the Aggies’ offensive doldrums over the last five years. So at best, it’s a short-term solution (maybe?) that comes with all sorts of red flags. Talk about an experiment that reeks of recklessness and short-sided results.

Even after an awful 2022 season, Fisher still held leverage with the Aggies. They were never going to pay that insane buyout to move on from him, so he didn’t have to cave on giving up play-calling duties.

That he realized that’s what was best for him and the Aggies’ program was a good first step. But adding Petrino to the staff seems more likely to spark more turmoil than any sort of significant change. 

Dismiss Bobby Petrino’s character flaws — although Petrino joining a staff that includes DJ Durkin and Steve Addazio is quite a statement about the Aggies’ priority of program culture. 

While the veteran head coach has produced top-flight offenses at multiple stops, Petrino hasn’t been an assistant coach since 2002 at Auburn, and has burned bridges at every stop (with the Atlanta Falcons, at Arkansas and Louisville). This is not a guy who listens to the opinions of anyone not named Bobby Petrino.

The last time he called plays for a Power 5 program — Louisville in 2018 — the Cardinals had the worst offense in the ACC, both in yards per game and scoring. He has a toxic past and personality, and now Fisher is throwing a Molotov cocktail into an already combustible climate in College Station right now. 

Quarterback Connor Weigman has some promise to build on, but the Aggies must replace tailback Devon Achane, while Ainias Smith is off to the NFL and former 5-star signee Evan Stewart is flirting with the transfer portal. 

ESPN reported that Fisher hired Petrino because “his SEC experience was particularly attractive to Fisher. At Arkansas, Petrino’s offenses ranked second in the SEC in scoring in 2010 (36.5 points per game) and first in 2011 (36.8 points per game).”

That was more than a decade ago. Think about how much the college game has changed since then? Petrino’s Missouri State offense averaged just 27.3 points per game in 2022. 

Fisher still plans to “be heavily involved in the Aggies’ offense,” which only further complicates the dynamic between two coaches with outsized egos. Bobby Petrino isn’t coming to Texas A&M just to help Jimbo Fisher resuscitate a wheezing offense. 

He flipped on UNLV because Fisher’s desperation to land a name gives him a potential platform to parlay a good season into a potential FBS head coaching job. 

So at its most optimal outcome, the Aggies have a mini 2023 offensive renaissance but Fisher is forced to do this same dance searching for a new OC a year from now. Or the whole experiment is an utter disaster from the start.

Never dismiss the idea that it can always get worse, Aggie Nation.