Jimbo Fisher, the ousted Texas A&M football coach, is set for a record-breaking golden handshake to the tune of about $77 million, sources have confirmed, per a report published by Houston Chronicle. This monumental sum to be paid not to coach serves as a testament to the high stakes and cutthroat nature of college football coaching.
Despite being let go after a lackluster six-season run failing to clinch Southeastern Conference titles, Fisher pocketed a buyout that blows previous records out of the water. The staggering figure is nearly four times than of the previous record held by Gus Malzahn's $20 million exit from Auburn in 2020.
While Fisher appears to be taking his forced departure in stride, he did express concern for his support staff, who now find themselves on the hunt for new employment. “It’s about success, you want to have success, and I still think we’ve got a heck of a team if we didn’t have some injuries … but here’s what I say about this — for myself, I’ll be fine,” Fisher told the Houston Chronicle. His empathy lies with the staff, explaining, "but here’s what you hate about that, all those people we’re talking about in recruiting, all the support staff, that’s the people when a changeover is made, you’re talking about 75-80 people who could lose their jobs."
The firing and subsequent financial implications were described by A&M's athletic director Ross Bjork as "monumental". Sticking to the script, Texas A&M assured that no "state-appropriated funds" would be used toward Fisher's salary back when he was hired in 2017 on a 10-year, $75 million contract. The buyout is to be covered solely by the athletic department and the independent fundraising organization, the 12th Man Foundation, as per a report by CNN. "We will use unrestricted contributions within the 12th Man Foundation for the first one-time payments and the athletic department will fund the annual payments for the remaining portion by growing our revenues and adjusting our annual operating budget accordingly," Bjork said.
With Fisher's era now in the rearview mirror, the Texas A&M Aggies have pivoted to Mike Elko, Fisher's former defensive coordinator at A&M, who notched a 16-9 record as the head coach over two seasons at Duke. As Texas A&M navigates the consequences of what turned out to be an expensive gamble, broader questions remain about the spiraling costs of college sports and the precedent this mammoth buyout might set.
