College football: 5 second-year head coaches who must win big in 2019
By Brian Miller
2. Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M
Everything is bigger in Texas, especially the expectations they have for head football coaches. That’s why even with having won nine games last season, Jimbo Fisher fell short of what the 12th Man was hoping he’d achieve in his first year.
At the end of the day, Fisher has a lot of work to do because he only managed to lose one less game than Kevin Sumlin did a year earlier when he was fired for going 7-5.
The Aggies have all of the makings of an elite FBS powerhouse — their home field, Kyle Field is one of the few football stadiums that pack in over 100,000 fans, they consistently land top-ranked recruits and even receive annual donations in excess of $75M, but the one thing preventing them from being seen as truly elite is the harsh reality of the fact they haven’t won a national title since 1939.
Jimbo was chosen to lead the Aggies because of his track record of success and the fact he’s won a national title is no small thing — once a champ, always a threat. In addition to his success on the field, Fisher has also earned a reputation for being one of the most effective recruiters in the nation.
To this point, Fisher’s recruiting class of 2019 is ranked 4th in the nation and although Kevin Sumlin can be credited with originally recruiting five-star quarterback Kellen Mond, it was Fisher can be made sure he stayed in College Station. In this day in age, a light breeze could inspire a five-star quarterback like Mond to transfer and the fact he’s remained at Texas A&M during this transition speaks to Fisher’s strength as a coach who builds a strong rapport with his players.
If Fisher continues to bring in top five recruiting classes don’t be surprised if we end up seeing Texas A&M in the playoff sometime in the near future. Of course, this requires beating Nick Saban, which no one from Saban’s coaching tree has ever been able to, so with that in mind perhaps the Aggies will have to settle for being second-best in the SEC West until the Alabama legend takes his final bow.
Regardless, Fisher should certainly be able to win at least 10 games a year with everything he has at his disposal in College Station. Look to see the Aggies continue to improve in 2019.