Belichick, 71, and Saban, 72, are easily two of the greatest coaches that the sport has ever seen. Next season, college football will look very different without Saban coaching Alabama. Meanwhile, the NFL will also look very different without Belichick coaching the Patriots.
Both teams will have huge decisions about how to fill these massive shoes. While there are some interesting candidates for the gig in New England and the job in Tuscaloosa, can either live up to the reputation that Belichick and Saban built?
We looked back at some of the most legendary coaches in football history, both in the NFL and in college football, to learn how these replacements have typically fared.
The results are a fairly mixed bag but if there is one thing we learned, it is that it is not easy to replace someone as accomplished as either of these two Hall of Fame-caliber coaches.
With the news of head coach Nick Saban retiring from Alabama, many in Aggieland breathed a sigh of relief as the big bad elephant finally left the room.
With the news of head coach Nick Saban retiring from Alabama, many in Aggieland breathed a sigh of relief as the big bad elephant finally left the room.
Texas A&M compiled a 2-10 overall record against Saban and the Crimson Tide. The victories may have been few and far between but they sure were memorable. Both wins against Alabama came when they were ranked No. 1 in the nation.
(John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)
Back on Nov. 10, 2012, the Aggies were led to victory by a young upstart quarterback. Johnny Manziel shocked everyone in Tuscaloosa, and the world for that matter, with the 29-24 upset win. Manziel’s life changed forever as he became “Johnny Football” and went on to become the first freshman to ever win the Heisman Trophy.
While the Jimbo Fisher era in Bryan-College Station may not have gone as planned, the most memorable victory during his tenure has to be against Alabama. On Oct. 9, 2021, Fisher became the first former Saban assistant to defeat him, doing so with a 41-38 win. From 28 yards out, Seth Small nailed the game-winning kick to pull off the upset.
(Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports)
Saban’s retirement opens the door of opportunity for head coach Mike Elko and Texas A&M to establish itself at the top of the pack in the revamped SEC. With the Texas Longhorns joining the conference later this year, it’s officially time for the Aggies to show who the best team in the Lone Star State — and perhaps the entire SEC — really is.
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After being fired by the Aggies in November, former coach Jimbo Fisher ended his silence on Thursday in an interview with Barstool Sports.
John James “Jimbo” Fisher Jr. is back — not in Bryan-College Station or college football for that matter — but the BCS Championship-winning head coach ended his silence this week more than a month after being fired by Texas A&M.
Fisher was interviewed on the “Pardon My Take” podcast, hosted by Eric Sollenger and Dan Katz, which is a part of the Barstool Sports media network. The former Aggies coach chatted with “PFT Commenter” and “Big Cat” for about 45 minutes and covered plenty of topics.
The interview, which can be viewed in its entirety on YouTube, starts at about 1:35:51.
John James explained the origin of his nickname and how he became Jimbo.
“My dad was called big Jim, I had an uncle Jim, Jimmy Lee. My aunt one day, this is a true story, I was in the first grade and every school teacher calls you by your real name. The first month of school, I got whipped and put in the corner every day for about three to four weeks.
“My aunt, who actually named me Jimbo, was the secretary to the principal at the school. My school teacher went up to her and said, ‘Juanita, I think your nephew John is either defiant and won’t listen or he has a hearing (problem). I think he truly has a hearing problem, he will not communicate with me.’ My aunt just kept working and she said, ‘Juanita, I’m talking to you,’ then she said, ‘Who are you talking about?’ ‘Your nephew John, he won’t listen to me.’
“She said, ‘Try calling him Jimbo,’ so she started calling me Jimbo and I never got in trouble again. I never knew she was talking to me. I had no idea she talking to me, that’s a true story. She named me Jimbo when I was 2 and it just stuck.”
In the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Texas A&M was left on the outside looking in at the College Football Playoff. In Fisher’s opinion, the Aggies were much better than No. 5, 4 or 3.
“I always say this, I thought in 2020, we were truly the second-best team in the country. We were the only one-loss team in the history of the SEC to never make the playoff with an all-SEC schedule. We ended up being ranked fifth and they let Ohio State in with six wins and Notre Dame, who lost the conference championship just like Georgia did, and got out.
“I said going into the playoff this year, if you want the best four teams, Georgia is still one of those teams. Florida State should’ve been in the playoff. I’m an advocate of they went undefeated, they deserved to be in it. … You put two one-loss teams ahead of an undefeated team (that’s) an ACC champion. Whether if they won or not, they earned the right to be in it.
“The BCS and the computer was better than what we have now because it’s turned into an opinion poll. To have five conferences and four guys get in the playoff, what sense does that make? It was flawed from the get-go.”
With the introduction of the NCAA transfer portal, the college football landscape has changed forever and Fisher seems like he’s not a fan.
“The last two to three years of this thing, there has been more change in college football than ever. It is unbelievable how this has transformed. In February, you can’t have kids on campus and (in) July you can’t, that is an NCAA rule. Every other weekend of every other month of the year, you are working seven days a week every day.
“You’ve got recruits, you’ve got people, there is somebody on your campus and things going on. Our staff worked every other weekend except for those two months. So basically 45 weekends is what we worked year-round. It has changed.
“Understand this – think if the NFL was open free agency. Now they just passed the other rule, that it’s unlimited transfers! It wasn’t just one, now it’s unlimited and you don’t have to wait until you graduate.
“Think if every contract in the NFL right now was negotiable. It’s unbelievable and people are tampering with players. College football right now, it needs a commissioner. We need to do this thing the right way.
“Go get your 50 or 60 teams – whoever is going to be in Division I – and make it more like the NFL. Intertwine your leagues of play a lot more so you can get a true playoff picture and play it more like you do with the NFL and do it the right way.”
Back in 2022, a user named “SlicedBread” on the website “BroBible” claimed Fisher bought the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation, which was far from the truth according to the fired Texas A&M coach.
“College football changed on a lie. I am going to write a book on this one day. I am going to write a book. When he wrote those numbers, I said, ‘My God, where is it at?’ I wish that would’ve happened. The amount of NIL deals at A&M at that time in all sports combined, he said our class was $35 million, there was right at a million dollars for all sports combined.
“That is why it upset me so much about it. You can insinuate all those things that have always been said. But you are insinuating that the families of – and I am telling you, that was as far from the truth as anything that was ever out there.
“And here is the big thing: all of the media went and ran with that story as truthful without ever checking it. And I am talking about the big dogs. I am talking about all of the people we regard as highly respected guys.
“College football changed on a lie. I am going to write a book about it one day!”
Despite failing to meet expectations, Fisher apparently didn’t see the writing on the wall that many people around the country did.
“You do not ever see it coming. I still thought we were playing well, we had a great game. We were hopefully going to finish out 8-4, have a chance to go 9-4 and we had the injuries that happened.
“I really think the team we had coming and what we had going was going to be a really good football team. But hey, that is it, that is their choice. That is what they make. I wish them the best and I hope those kids have success.”
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After the University of Texas lost 37-31 to Washington in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff on Monday night in New Orleans, comparisons began running wild across X.
After the University of Texas lost 37-31 to Washington in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff on Monday night in New Orleans, comparisons began running wild across X.
One of the most popular juxtapositions posed by Texas A&M fans was how Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian stacks up against former Aggies leading man Jimbo Fisher. The latter was fired in November after six seasons in Bryan-College Station without a CFP berth, which is something that Sarkisian and Texas accomplished last year.
Just for fun, let’s compare Fisher and Sarkisian through three seasons as a Power Five head coach in the Lone Star State. When it comes to conference & overall records and top 10, bowl, & New Year’s Six wins, Fisher has the advantage.
John James was 26-10 overall through three years while Sark (25-14) has one less victory in three more games. The SEC is certainly better than the Big 12 as a whole, yet, Fisher (17-8) had the same amount of conference wins as Sarkisian (17-10) in two fewer contests.
The ousted Texas A&M coach tallied two top-10 wins while Sark had one, which came earlier this year at Alabama. Fisher led the Aggies to a 41-27 win against North Carolina in the 2021 Orange Bowl and Sarkisian has yet to win an NY6 matchup.
Fisher signed a 10-year, $75 million contract with Texas A&M in 2017 before signing an extension in 2021 for 10 years and $94.95 million fully guaranteed. The annual value of Sarkisian’s six-year, $34.2 million deal is $1.8 million less than the first contract that Fisher signed because he won a national championship at Florida State to cap off the 2013 campaign.
Both Texas programs have paid preposterous amounts of money to their respective coaches and ultimately have nothing to show for it without a CFP trophy on display. Perhaps the Longhorns learn from the Fisher failure and take precautions before giving Sarkisian an extension, despite the success of the 2023 season.
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A former Aggie who went on to play five seasons in the NFL for the 49ers is staying home in College Station to join coach Mike Elko’s staff.
A former Aggie who went on to play five seasons in the NFL is reportedly staying home at Texas A&M to join head coach Mike Elko‘s staff.
Per 247Sports national college football reporter Matt Zenitz, former San Francisco 49ers nose tackle Tony Jerod-Eddie is being hired by Elko to serve as a defensive line coach. He was a member of Jimbo Fisher’s staff as a defensive analyst.
After Fisher was fired in November, former Aggies interim head coach Elijah Robinson promoted Jerod-Eddie to a more hands-on role as an assistant coach on the field.
“Tony is not only a bright young coach, he’s an Aggie and can help us through this transition,” Robinson stated in November. “The players love and respect him and he will do an excellent job.”
Before starring at Kyle Field on Saturdays, Jerod-Eddie lettered as a defensive lineman at Desoto High School in Texas. He earned All-Big 12 honors during his senior season in College Station.
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
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The sophomore wideout let all naysayers know while shouting out his beloved mother in the post. Anthony reunites with former Aggies offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino, who returned to Arkansas in the same role following the firing of former Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher.
Per ESPN college football senior writer Pete Thamel, Anthony plans to play football and run track for the Razorbacks. He previously did so at Kentucky before transferring to Bryan-College Station in 2023.
Anthony appeared in four games for the Aggies last year, allowing him to take a redshirt season. He transfers to Arkansas with three years of collegiate eligibility remaining.
The Tylertown High School graduate is 5-foot-10, 160 pounds and was a 4-star recruit coming out of Mississippi in 2022. Anthony entered the portal again on Dec. 23 “due to family health issues.”
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“Wherever I go, I just hope the training staff can tell me the actual diagnosis of my injuries for my physical and mental health,” Stewart stated on X.
Users who refuse to pay for the social media platform formally known as Twitter are limited to 280 characters per post but a lot can still be said.
Texas A&M sophomore wide receiver Evan Stewart shared a post on Tuesday afternoon that has many people in Aggieland scratching their heads.
“Wherever I go, I just hope the training staff can tell me the actual diagnosis of my injuries for my physical and mental health,” Stewart stated on X, adding a praying hands emoji to the end of the post.
Stewart entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on Dec. 19. Following the firing of Jimbo Fisher and subsequent dismissal of his remaining staff, Stewart’s post seems to be more of an indictment against the previous regime than new head coach Mike Elko.
Where ever I go, I just hope the training staff can tell me the actual diagnosis of my injuries for my physical and mental health 🙏🏾
The sophomore wideout has been outspoken over the last month following the conclusion of the regular season. He revealed the truth about NIL in Bryan-College Station in December.
Stewart is 6-foot, 175 pounds and was a 5-star prospect coming out of Liberty High School in Frisco, Texas. The Memphis, Tenn. native had a phenomenal freshman season in 2022, earning All-Freshman Team honors from the SEC, ESPN, The Athletic and the Football Writers Association of America.
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Texas A&M fought hard all game long but fell just short in the TaxAct Bowl
Undermanned and inexperienced, the Aggie football team gave the Big 12 runner-up all they could handle at NRG Stadium but fell short in the 31-23 loss to No. 20 Oklahoma State in the TaxAct Bowl.
When the clock hit triple zeros, it officially ended the Jimbo era, and Interim head coach Elijah Robinson fulfilled his promise to the players on the team to stick with them through the bowl game. Even though things did get a little weird near the end, Coach Robinson always let it be known how much respect he has for the university and the time spent at A&M.
“I have nothing bad to say about this program. This program is first class, and they’re going to take it to the top.”
Below, you can check out the best photos from the game on Wednesday.
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Seniors Max Wright and Sam Mathews have big games during the TaxAct Bowl and speak post game presser
The 2023 football season has officially come to an end for the Aggie Football team and new head coach Mike Elko has a lot to look forward to in the future.
I don’t think anyone knew what to expect when the Aggies took the field at NRG Stadium on Wednesday night. Then, when third-string QB Jaylon Henderson was knocked out of the game on the very first play from scrimmage, it appeared that skipping the game altogether might have been the wiser choice.
However, true freshman Marcel Reed, 180 pounds soaking wet, showed that Aggie spirit and fought all game long, giving A&M a fighting chance to the very end. Two seniors, Max Wright and Sam Mathews, played huge roles in keeping the game in reach, capping off their final game in the Maroon & White. Wright finished the game with four receptions for 62 yards and Mathews finished with a career night that he will never forget.
His stat line consisted of a team-leading 14 tackles, 1.5 TFLs, and an interception. Max and Sam both talked about their time at A&M and what this season meant to them.
“Texas A&M, to me, is the perfect representation of what it means to be people of honor and people of character. It’s the best university in the world, and there is no other university like it. I will be an Aggie for the rest of my life.” – Max Wright
“This season has been one I’ll never forget. Those last weeks might have been my favorite on this team with how everybody bought in and committed to each other. It was special to be a part of.”
Below, you can hear everything Max Wright and Sam Mathews had to say following the game.
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Hear what Interim Head Coach Elijah Robinson had to say after the TaxAct Bowl game
The 2023 football season has officially ended for the Aggie Football team and new head coach Mike Elko has a lot to look forward to in the future.
I don’t think anyone knew what to expect when the Aggies took the field at NRG Stadium on Wednesday night. Then, when third-string QB Jaylon Henderson was knocked out of the game on the very first play from scrimmage, it appeared that skipping the game altogether might have been the wiser choice.
However, true freshman Marcel Reed, 180 pounds soaking wet, showed that Aggie spirit and fought all game long, giving A&M a fighting chance to the very end. As awkward as the Elijah Robinson situation got over the past few weeks, he kept his word to the team, took a very depleted team in the TaxAct Bowl, and gave the Big 12 runner-up a run for their money.
“We talked brotherhood from the very beginning, and no matter what anybody said outside of that locker room, the locker room was about brotherhood.” “I give a lot of credit to the coaches and those guys sticking around… The kids gave us everything we asked of them.”
Below, you can hear everything Interim Head Coach Elijah Robinson had to say following the game.
Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1.
