Paul Finebaum Reveals If Major SEC Team Will Hire Jimbo Fisher originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Jimbo Fisher was once regarded as one of the top coaches in college football. He began his head coaching career with the Florida State Seminoles.
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Fisher had an impressive record of 83-23 during his eight seasons in Tallahassee. This tenure included a national championship victory in 2013, with Jameis Winston as quarterback, who won the Heisman Trophy that same year. He followed up this success with a 13-1 season in 2014, which resulted in the team making its first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff.
Things were never quite as good as that two-year stretch at Florida State. In his final season, the Seminoles went 5-6. Still, Fisher was highly sought after and became the head coach of the Texas A&M Aggies.
Former Texas A&M Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher. © Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images
Jimbo Fisher Has Up-and-Down Tenure at Texas A&M
During his six-year tenure, Fisher achieved a record of 45 wins and 25 losses. However, he did not manage to secure any seasons with 10 or more wins, and there were two seasons in which he recorded six wins or fewer. On a positive note, he had two seasons with nine wins and narrowly missed the playoffs in 2020, finishing fifth in the final CFP ranking. He was ultimately fired during his sixth season and received a record buyout of $77.5 million.
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Fisher has revealed that he wants to return to coaching. On “The Paul Finebaum Show,” the SEC Network analyst dismissed the idea of any SEC team hiring him, including the team where he has a history.
“No,” Finebaum said. “There is no chance you are going to see Jimbo Fisher in Baton Rouge other than driving through on the way to the casinos.”
Jimbo Fisher Played a Key Role in LSU’s Second National Championship
If the LSU Tigers choose to part ways with head coach Brian Kelly, Fisher may be a candidate to consider due to his history with the program. Fisher served as the offensive coordinator from 2000-06, which includes his role on the 2003 national championship team led by Nick Saban.
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Fisher left to become the offensive coordinator at Florida State before eventually being promoted to head coach. During his tenure as the offensive coordinator for the Tigers, LSU recorded ten or more wins four times, won nine games once, and secured eight wins on two occasions.
Paul Finebaum Believes Early Season Struggles Could Put Brian Kelly on the Hot Seat
For Fisher to be considered, it indicates that things didn’t go well for Kelly and his team. Finebaum outlined what could put Kelly on the hot seat this season after three consecutive seasons with nine or more wins.
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“If Kelly loses that game, there will be an overreaction,” Finebaum previously said. “But the real problem will come a couple of weeks later because that’s when they have Florida at home. I believe that’s going to be a primetime game. That’s when the pressure starts because LSU has to navigate that September schedule.”
Finebaum mentioned that if Kelly were to lose against the Gators, his job would be at risk during the following road game against the Ole Miss Rebels.
Firing Kelly will also involve a substantial buyout fee of $51.7 million. This amount will decrease each year:
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Last season, LSU lost to Florida 27-16 in late-season play. The Tigers have not won an opening game since 2019, but they did defeat the Rebels in overtime, 29-26. LSU will kick off the season with a crucial road game against the Clemson Tigers on August 30 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Related: Paul Finebaum Reveals Why LSU Is a Legit National Championship Contender
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 17, 2025, where it first appeared.
