Home run hire: Jimbo Fisher is Texas A&M’s new head coach

After a week of speculation, the Texas A&M Aggies have their home run hire: Jimbo Fisher.

Former Florida State head coach Fisher came to a 10-year, $75 million agreement with the Aggies on Friday, in a deal that has Aggies fans abuzz with excitement.

Fisher will earn $7.5m per year at College Station, making him the SEC’s second-best paid head coach. Alabama’s Nick Saban is the best-paid.

Texas A&M fired Kevin Sumlin on Saturday despite Sumlin posting one of the best records the school has ever seen.

Fisher brings with him an excellent recruiting reputation, as well as a National Championship that he won while being the head coach in Tallahassee. Fisher will walk into Texas – one of the best recruiting territories in the country. Now, Agggies fans can expect A&M to beat SEC and Big XII rivals to coveted recruits in the Lone Star State – something that Sumlin was able to do at the start of his career but increasingly worsened.

Sumlin’s 2017 recruiting class was ranked 13th in the nation but only 6th in the SEC. Florida State’s was ranking 6th and No.1 in the ACC. It would not surprise anyone if Fisher took some of the 2018 class over to College Station from FSU – particularly as now Florida State is coachless, and that the Seminoles had to schedule a game against Louisiana-Monroe this Saturday to guarantee bowl eligibility.

Fisher’s job will not be easy. Texas A&M never beat LSU, only beat Alabama once, and had a losing record against Auburn under Sumlin. He will be expected to turn those around, as well as Sumlin’s awful recent home record (the Aggies haven’t won a SEC West home game since October 2015).

We think he will.