It's powerful to be a college football coach. Not only do you get to decide how the team operates on the field, but you're a role model for players during some of the most formative years of their lives. And perhaps the most impactful feeling: You're getting paid millions of dollars to do it.
Know what's even better than being a college football coach, though? Being a college football coach that gets fired.
At least, that's true for coaches who have a buyout clause written into their contracts. For Jimbo Fisher, he just scored a massive amount of money to go away.
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Texas A&M fired Fisher on November 12. He'll make the remaining $76 million on his deal, a record amount for a head coach buyout. It's more than twice what any other coach has gotten in a buyout agreement. And just as spectacularly, Fisher will make all of this money even if he ends up coaching another team, potentially earning money from two schools at once.
Fisher was fired the day after his Aggies defeated Mississippi State 51-10. The blowout victory wasn't enough to keep his job, however.
In six seasons with Texas A&M, Fisher compiled a 45-25 record. Yet the Aggies could never find consistent success on the field. The team finished 9-1 and won the Orange Bowl during the Covid-shortened 2020 season, which was the highlight of Fisher's tenure.
Texas A&M never won the SEC West or made the College Football Playoff under Fisher's watch. Aside from 2020, the program has lost at least four games each year and posted a 5-7 record in 2022. In fact, since that Orange Bowl season, Fisher's Aggies have gone a pedestrian 19-15 overall and 10-13 in the SEC.
To put into perspective just how much money Fisher is making, consider this comparison: Fisher will average $26,301 every single day for the next eight years to not coach for Texas A&M. His first coaching job, as an offensive coordinator at Samford, paid him $20,000 for the entire season.
Fisher signed a ten-year deal in 2021. That contract included $95 million in guaranteed money and was almost a panic signing. Texas A&M was worried Fisher would leave the university for LSU. The Tigers hired Brian Kelly instead.
Now, Fisher has the ability to go wherever he wants. However, after earning such a staggering amount of money, we wouldn't blame him if he took some time off.
