Throughout my time covering the Texas A&M Football program, and of course, Head Coach Jimbo Fisher’s widely discussed tenure, those outside of the Texas A&M media realm generally relied on the low-hanging fruit that was the free media fodder provided on the back of the Aggies’ dismal 5-7 (2-6 SEC) 2022 season.
Back in late December, Fisher, who (finally) saw the writing on the wall, took a big shot after hiring Bobby Petrino as the program’s new offensive coordinator, taking his first assistant job since 2002. Bringing some personal baggage, Petrino’s offensive acumen and extensive coaching resume completely outweighed any negative aspects of his hiring.
Throughout the summer, most of the outside skepticism was based on the potential animosity seen within the future Fisher/Petrino dynamic. Still, through a successful spring with notable changes to the offense, which continued into the fall, the Aggies opened the 2023 season with a bang, blowing out the vising New Mexico Lobos 52-10 behind starting quarterback Conner Weigman’s five touchdowns, three thrown to ascending sophomore wide receiver Noah Thomas.
On Wednesday, ESPN senior writer Chris Low released his highly anticipated article after spending time in College Station to interview Jimbo Fisher, Bobby Petrino, and Texas A&M Athletic Director Ross Bjork to finally bring some much-needed clarity regarding the general vibe around the football program, Fisher’s coaching future, and of course, predicting how the Petrino experiment will pan out during the rest of the 2023 season and beyond.
Here are my five takeaways from Low’s thought-provoking ESPN piece.