Texas A&M fired Jimbo Fisher 10 games into his sixth season, sources confirm to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.

"After very careful analysis of all the components related to Texas A&M football, I recommended to President Welsh and then Chancellor Sharp that a change in the leadership of the program was necessary in order for Aggie football to reach our full potential and they accepted my decision," Texas A&M Director of Athletics, Ross Bjork announced. "We appreciate Coach Fisher's time here at Texas A&M and we wish him the best in his future endeavors."

Fisher was hired in December 2017 to put the Aggies in the SEC mix. Instead, Texas A&M was a middle-of-the-pack conference team for most of his tenure. Fisher was 45-25 overall and 27-22 in SEC play. 

The high point of the Fisher era was a 9-1 2020 season during the pandemic. Take away that year and Fisher was 36-24 overall and 18-21 in conference.

Fisher arrived in College Station with a 10-year, $75 million dollar contract and a national championship ring from his time at Florida State. He was extended prior to the 2021 campaign thanks to the success in 2020. Since that extension, Fisher is 19-15 overall and 10-13 in the SEC. 

Fisher’s success was on the recruiting trail. The Aggies signed the best class in the history of recruiting rankings during the 2022 cycle. His last five classes – dating to the 2019 cycle – were ranked in the top 10 nationally. The combination of a fertile recruiting ground and seemingly endless resources make Texas A&M one of the most attractive jobs in the country with unlimited potential for a head coach who can combine off field success with on-field wins. 

The Aggies took a chance and joined the SEC in the 2012 season. Despite pessimism at the national level, the move was a stroke of genius. Texas A&M immediately raised its recruiting profile and enjoyed instant success under Kevin Sumlin thanks to Heisman winner Johnny Manziel and a talented offense. The Aggies won 11 games in 2012 and were close to playing for a national championship. 

The future looked bright. The 12th Man assumed it was only the beginning. Instead, it was the last time the Aggies won 10 or more games. It was also the only season other than 2020 that Texas A&M lost fewer than two SEC games. With Texas joining the conference next year as the Longhorns are seemingly headed in the right direction put even more pressure for Texas A&M to act on Fisher.  

The buy out for Fisher is close to $76 million dollars with 20 percent due within 30 days of his termination (just under $20 million; the rest is due annually over the next eight years (just over $7 million per year). The Aggie will essentially pay two head coaches until early in the 2030s.

The list of replacements will be long with former defensive coordinator Mike Elko and UTSA head coach, and East Texas native, Jeff Traylor as early favorites.