Texas A&M and head coach Jimbo Fisher are at a crossroads, as the Aggies are heading into the back half of their underwhelming 2023 season, sitting at 4-3 and 2-2 in the SEC after the bye week.
For those of us who cover the program, none of this is surprising after seven weeks of play, as the Aggies’ porous offensive line has not only destroyed any offensive rhythm but has placed quarterback Max Johnson under constant pressure (50% pressure rate on the year).
Second-year O-line coach Steve Addazio deserves all the blame for the lack of player development in the trenches. Still, said blame will always rise to the top, as Fisher’s lack of consistency in SEC play coupled with a middling overall record (43-24) is now two games worse than former Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin.
Just a year removed from one of the Aggies and Fisher’s worst seasons in their collective history, things were supposed to be different on offense after the hiring of offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino. Still, after the season-ending injury to former starting quarterback Conner Weigman, it’s sadly been a near repeat of the same old struggles.
With Fisher’s coaching hot seat heating up week after week, College Sports Wire’s Patrick Conn and Ryan Haley recently compiled their own “Hot Seat” list, including tiers ranking from “cooling off” to “Sleeping in the Coffin.”
Just below Iowa OC and king of coaching nepotism, Brian Ferentz. Fisher, of course, came in at No.2, with the second worst coaching hot seat tier, “Scolding Hot.”
For a moment there, when Texas A&M reached 4-1 with back-to-back wins to open conference play, it looked like Fisher could move himself down a few tiers. Consecutive losses to Alabama and Tennessee ruined any chances for a surprise SEC West title, however. In his six seasons in College Station, Fisher doesn’t have a single 10-win season, and the Aggies are 8-12 in their last 20 SEC games. You don’t even have to rewrite history to say Fisher hasn’t met Texas A&M’s standards. Kevin Sumlin, the coach the Aggies fired before they lured Fisher from Florida State, won 66.2% of his 77 games at the helm. Through 67 games, Fisher’s winning percentage is 64.2%.
While most of the Aggie fan base has taken one side on Fisher’s impending future at the helm, how Fisher and the Aggies respond in their final five games this season will likely determine the final outcome.
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