Wildcat Wild Card: Making The Case For Arizona's Jedd Fisch As Texas A&M Aggies Next Head Coach
Jedd Fisch's name might sound similar to that of Jimbo Fisher, but their pathways to earning the title of head coach differ drastically.
Fisher, who was fired by Texas A&M following a 51-10 win over Mississippi State earlier this month, spent the majority of his time at the collegiate level. He learned under names like Terry Bowden, Nick Saban and Bobby Bowden before taking over as a national champion-winning coach at Florida State.
Fisch, who's closing on Year 3 at Arizona, bounced back and forth between college and the NFL during his two-decade coaching tenure. He's spent time everywhere, from the AFC to the Pac-10, and made stops in cities like Houston, Los Angeles, Ann Arbor, and Miami.
And his next stop might be in College Station if athletic director Ross Bjork decides to pull the trigger and name him A&M's 31st head coach. Fisch might not be the flashiest name on the coaching circuit, but he could be the right one to turn the Aggies into an SEC contender.
Fisch, 48, has the No. 15 Wildcats playing inspiring football heading into the Territorial Cup against Arizona State. Arizona is 8-3 for the first time since 2014 and could finish with double-digit wins for the first time since the College Football Playoffs' inaugural season.
Three losses on paper seem underwhelming. The pathway of how Arizona found the L doesn't. Combined, the three defeats came by 16 total points, two of which were in overtime to Mississippi State and USC.
The other loss, a 31-24 defeat to Washington, could be ratified in the Pac-12 Championship if everything goes according to plan. The Wildcats must win over the Sun Devils, while No. 6 Oregon must lose Friday night at home to No. 15 Oregon State.
Is that enough for Bjork to decide that Fisch is the right man for the job?
Fisch didn't turn the Wildcats into a Pac-12 contender overnight. He was handed the keys to a program that went 9-20 under former Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin and was lost on the recruiting trail.
“Our identity is going to be toughness — mental toughness and physical toughness,” Fisch said on a Zoom introductory press conference back in 2020. “It’s gonna be about a team that will never, ever, stop competing.”
Results were slow but climbing by the year. The Wildcats went 1-11 in Year 1 under Fisch's watch. A year later, they finished 5-7. Two seasons into the rebuild and Arizona has four ranked wins, tied for the most in college football with Washington and Georgia heading into the season finale.
More than anything, Fisch has seen continued progress under his watch. He's shown a willingness to adapt, both with on-field execution and talent evaluation when it comes to recruiting. Fisch also has been vocal with his usage of the transfer portal, landing standouts like quarterback Jayden De Laura (Washington State), receiver Jacob Cowing (UTEP), tight end Tanner McLachlan (Southern Utah) and linebacker Taylor Upshaw (Michigan).
The Aggies (7-4, 4-3 SEC) want to avoid the portal, not by addition, but rather subtraction. Bjork, who continues his search, is looking to hire the next coach before Dec. 4 when the portal opens, allowing Fisher's successor to sell himself and his vision of keeping A&M in contention next fall.
Arizona Wildcats head coach Jedd Fisch points at the score board after a fumble call in the first half at Arizona Stadium.
Mandatory Credit: Zachary BonDurant-USA TODAY Sports
And yes, the Aggies could be contenders. Talent has never been a program at Kyle Field under Fisher's six-year stay. Neither have resources for recruting and in the new era of NIL.
On-field execution, however, has been a viable problem. It's been a concern since R.C. Slocum resigned following the 2022 season.
“The ingredients for a championship are here,” Bjork said following Fisher's firing. “Aggies want to do it the right way and deserve excellence in everything (they) do.”
A&M hasn't won 10 games since its first year in the SEC in 2012. The Aggies haven't won a conference title since 1998, when Slocum walked the sidelines.
Countless names are linked to the opening position in College Station. Contenders include Duke’s Mike Elko, Washington’s Kalen DeBoer, Kansas State's Chris Chris Klieman, Kansas’ Lance Leipold, UTSA’s Jeff Traylor, and A&M interim coach Elijah Robinson.
Ohio State's Ryan Day will be a name to monitor following Saturday's theatrics in Ann Arbor, but he's considered a longshot given the Buckeyes' status as a College Football Playoff contender.
Successful programs might not always make the big-name hire, but rather the right one. Fisch's background in a pro-style offense at the collegiate and NFL level could do wonders with Conner Weigman and a talented group of pass-catchers ready to make headlines in the new version of the SEC come next fall.
Bjork isn't looking to hand out a lucrative contract to the next coach, clarifying that whichever candidate is hired will have an incentive-based deal. The contract's annual salary would continue to climb so long as the wins do.
Sound familiar to a coach who only watched his program flourish year by year in Tucson?
