Aggies Coach Jimbo Fisher 'Overrated And Ineffective' Per Twitter
CBS Sports' Josh Pate took to Twitter to ask the public's opinion of Texas A&M Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher.
Pate, who is indifferent in his opinion of Fisher, found that in most college football circles he was "not very well-liked" outside of College Station. Pate found the most common response to his Twitter experiment as to why fans don't like Fisher were that people think "he's in over his head."
"(People think) he's a better offensive coordinator than a CEO, which is interesting because he just relinquished play-calling duties or so we've been told," Pate said on "Late Kick with Josh Pate."
Others replied and said Fisher is "overrated" and "ineffective." In four of Fisher's first five seasons in College Station, the Aggies have had at least four losses.
In 2020, Texas A&M went 9-1 in the COVID-19-abbreviated season with an Orange Bowl win, and though Fisher is 3-0 in bowl games since becoming the Aggies' head coach, they have not made any noise in the College Football Playoff conversation.
Last season marked Fisher's first losing season in his 13-year head coaching career.
"People look at that and they say, 'Well, to whom much is given, much is expected.' On the surface, I don't have a problem with that line of thinking by the way," Pate said. "As long as you as a fanbase delivers on your end, it is not unfair at all for you to expect leadership, including your head coach, to deliver on their end. Jimbo Fisher has not done that at a high enough level, so I get that part.
"If Aggie fans want to feel that way, I get that part. If you're an Arkansas fan or a Missouri fan, doesn't impact you. In fact, I think you guys should be happy about that. Yet, when I hear you talk about Jimbo, it's like the dude stole your lunch money."
The third main reason fans don't like Fisher is because they think he's "stubborn" and "unlikeable" while also resisting change.
Pate said if he were to bring this up to Fisher, himself, the Aggies' head coach would "push back" with things he's changed within the program. However, Pate believes fans view Fisher's resistance to change from a "50,000-foot level."
"Texas A&M hasn't gotten results and yet we look year-to-year-to-year and it doesn't look a whole lot different on the field. That's the kind of resistance to change we're talking about," Pate said. "Jimbo Fisher would have reasons why he hasn't done it the way you think he should do, and also he would tell you it's just a lack of execution. Now, that started to wear on me a little bit because he's technically right. It's one of those things when coaches get feedback, they're technically right on."
The fourth reason fans listed were that Fisher's national championship victory was because of former Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston and not because of anything he did.
Fisher had to recruit Winston to come to Florida State, while developing him and molding him for the Seminoles' offense.
Pate said the same "backwards logic" isn't applied to head coaches Alabama's Nick Saban or Clemson's Dabo Swinney who won national championships with Tua Tagovailoa and Trevor Lawrence, respectively.
"Jimbo Fisher is doing exactly what he should do," Pate said. "Jimbo Fisher won a national championship in 2013, and he's leveraged it as hard as he possibly could."
Pate said the Aggies in 2023 could create a shift in the public opinion of Fisher, though. He highlighted that the hiring of offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino will need to work out while Fisher flaunts his personality in the process to create an about-face of how fans view the Texas A&M head coach.
"If the offense is resurrected, and therefore Texas A&M football is resurrected, and Jimbo gets credit for it as he opens up, as he loosens his tie a little bit," Pate said. "Jimbo Fisher becomes a good guy. And there you are, voila, in 2027, Jimbo signs a brand new multi-year extension, A&M's on top of the world, right there in the thick of it every year, and Jimbo Fisher has gone from public enemy No. 1 to 'Jimbo's OK' to 'you know who I kind of like that I used to not be able to stand? Jimbo Fisher.'"
Follow Casey Smith on Twitter @casey_smith2419
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