Jimbo Fisher, FSU Take Different Stances on Texas A&M Rumors

TALLAHASSEE — For the third straight season, Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher is being heavily linked with a lateral head coaching move to the SEC. And for the third straight season, Fisher and his own employer have taken wildly different approaches to the rumors.

Fisher, although initially declining to comment, finally had enough of the questions following the Seminoles’ 38-22 victory against Florida on Saturday.

Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel columnist, asked Fisher if Saturday would be his final FSU-Florida game as head coach of the Seminoles. The head coach initially said that he hopes not, but after being pressed, Fisher clearly had enough.

“Don’t start that,” Fisher said. “I ain’t talking about jobs. I ain’t getting into all that. You know how I go about things.”

Then, he elaborated a bit.

“Programs are changing,” Fisher said.

“That’s part of our world now. Y’all [journalists] create it. You guys create it with the articles and the things you do with the criticisms of the kids and the players, assistant coaches, and all that. This guy should go and that guy should go, and we should make this change.

“Ain’t none of y’all ever coached. You have no knowledge of anything. You guys create it so you can get your hits for your website and do all your stuff.”

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Fisher’s response is a far cry from what an FSU administrator echoed on Sunday. In a report published by the Tallahassee Democrat, a senior FSU administrator said that as far as the FSU administration knows, Fisher is still the Seminoles’ head coach.

FSU President John E. Thrasher said so too – on Nov. 16, Thrasher said that the head coach “is [at FSU] forever.”

“You know, as long as he wants to be, he’s good,” Thrasher said. “He’s as good as gold. He’s going to be here. … But I’m confident we’re going to be good next season. I’m very confident. I think we’ve had some tough breaks this year.”

Of course, only Thrasher and Fisher know who is right. On Monday’s Jeff Cameron Show, Fisher again increased speculation. When asked if he’d taken the Texas A&M job, Fisher declined to comment.

Joshua Mixon covers Florida State athletics for The Daily Nole. You can find him on Twitter @JoshDMixon.