Amid Texas A&M’s exhaustive search for the next head football coach, Aggie athletic director Ross Bjork will likely be judged for years to come by his selection. The previous regime hired former head coach Jimbo Fisher, who will be paid $76.8 million over the next seven years of his deal.
Last weekend during a radio segment on “Aggie Fan Zone,” Bjork took us on a deep dive into the search while revealing several changes to the hiring process. He noted that coaches, including those who have recently interviewed for the position, continuously rave about what A&M has to offer as one of the top programs in the country.
“They are saying, ‘You already have the giant of resources. If you have the right plan – recruiting, culture, leadership, having the right schemes, offense, defense, special teams and you hire a great staff, you have already got that. You have already got that combination.”
While a host of journalists and media members have ridiculed the idea that Texas A&M is among the “best” programs in the country, I don’t have to tell you the numbers don’t lie, as GigEm247 beat writer Carter Karels said it best regarding the Aggies’ decade-plus prolonged mediocrity on the gridiron:
“That perception might not make sense to everyone, because in the modern era, the Aggies have lacked a proof of concept. They have not won a national championship since 1939. They have not played in a conference championship since 1998. And in the last 25 seasons, they have reached 10-plus victories only once.”
But Bjork is correct that everything from high-end resources and recruiting success to unwavering fan support from the 12th Man makes this a turnkey position. And, yes, as many of you have already seen from our colleagues at For The Win, Bjork’s “This is not an 8-4 job” comment has made the rounds.
Still, he is moving toward the future past Jimbo’s failures while setting parameters for the new head coach to be judged on his job performance year after year.
While I recommend you listen to the full interview in the link above, Bjorks’ comments regarding a new incentive-based contract that will be given upfront in the first set of monetary negotiations is the right idea, which was avoided when Fisher was hired in 2017.
“We have to get the contract right,” Bjork stated. “We can’t do what we did before. … So we have level set with everybody that we have talked to. Here are the parameters. Here is the structure.”
Again, this isn’t a difficult concept to understand when it comes to truly competing for championships, or at the least, contending consistently. Yes, Bjork deserves the blame for extending Fisher’s massive deal after one successful season in 2020, but everyone deserves a mulligan, and it looks like he’s learned from that mistake during this search.
“But then it’s like, we are not giving bonuses to go to the Liberty Bowl. CFP, first round, quarterfinals, semifinals, host, win the national championship. You win the national championship, and you will get paid like a national championship coach.”
Arizona’s Jedd Fisch, UTSA’s Jeff Traylor, Duke’s Mike Elko, Washington’s Kalen DeBoer and Texas A&M interim head coach Elijah Robinson are the known candidates to have either received an interview or are being considered for the position.
Texas A&M will take on 14th-ranked LSU on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 11 a.m. CT., and the game will air on ESPN.
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 Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty.