Around 10 a.m. ET Sunday morning somewhere within Kyle Field, Texas A&M administrators fired coach Jimbo Fisher. The meeting was described as quick and cordial by athletic director Ross Bjork; defensive line coach Elijah Robinson will be the interim head coach. Robinson runs arguably the best position group on the team, and is an ace recruiter. He’ll keep things steady in the short term, and should have a shot to stay on the staff long term, if he wants to. If he does stick around, the hiring of his next boss has a chance to set off what an industry source called a chain reaction in the coaching market.
But before we talk about the who of A&M’s next head coach, or the Aggies’ floundering play relative to their recruiting rankings, or an offense that has never figured itself out, or the ever-present threat that Texas will leave them in the dust as they join the SEC, let’s talk about the dollars and cents of firing Jimbo Fisher.
The sticker shock on the buyout number involved with this move is immense: According to Fisher’s contract, he will be due about $76 million by 2031. That’s long term. Here’s some back-of-napkin math in line with the terms of Fisher’s contract about what this is going to cost the Aggies in the short term.
