Jimbo Fisher nearly quit Florida State over son’s illness

Jimbo Fisher is one of the best college football coaches working today but he nearly quit when his son was diagnosed with a genetic disease.

He’s one of the highest-paid coaches in the country, one of the best recruiters and has a national championship under his belt, but Jimbo Fisher almost walked away from Florida State before any of that could happen.

After Fisher completed his first season with the Seminoles he and his ex-wife Candi learned their son Ethan was diagnosed with a rare genetic disease called Fanconi anemia. According to the Palm Beach Post, people with Fanconi anemia are generally limited to a lifespan of 35 years.

“Yeah, [quitting] did cross my mind, without a doubt,” Fisher told the Palm Beach Post. “I didn’t know what (Ethan’s condition) required, what it meant. ‘Should I coach? ‘Should I not coach?’ I don’t know if we ever got to that point where we thought about it seriously but it crossed my mind to think about that because I didn’t know until we found out everything.

“That spring I was distracted. I was in practice and I would catch myself every now and then thinking about something. I have never done that before but I did occasionally that spring.”

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No one would have blamed Fisher for resigning in the wake of the diagnosis because family is always the most important thing.

However, five years later, Fisher didn’t give up his post as the head coach at one of the best college football programs in the country and led the Seminoles to a national championship and coached Jameis Winston to a Heisman Trophy.