- Fisher was fired Sunday morning after a 51-10 win over Mississippi State
- Athletics director Ross Bjork claims responsibility for Fishers’ massive payout
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork revealed the decision to fire football coach Jimbo Fisher in his fifth year with the Aggies out of the program “stuck in neutral.”
Fisher was fired Sunday, less than 24 hours after a dominant 51-10 win over Mississippi State. The win moved their record to 6-4, but according to Bjork, discussions about Fisher’s firing began after the Aggies lost to Ole Miss on Nov. 4. After the game, Bjork requested a meeting with Texas A&M President General Mark Welsh.
“The judgment I gave was that we are not reaching our full potential,” Bjork said Sunday. ‘We are not in discussions about the championship and something was not quite right with our course and the plan.’
Sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel that a four-hour discussion took place during a board meeting on Thursday. Early Sunday, Bjork and Welsh met with Fisher at Kyle Field to brief him on the immediate changes in a “quick and cordial” conversation.
“I’ll just say there was a tough conversation and I’ll leave it at that,” Bjork said. ‘But there was no vote. This was my decision to the President and Chancellor (John) Sharp. And that was the end of our decision-making process.”
Former Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher was fired due to the program’s “neutral” status, AD says
Aggies were 26-10 during Fisher’s first three seasons, including a No. 4 ranking in 2020
Fisher’s firing carries a price tag of $75 million, which Bjork says the school’s athletic department will pay in full.
“The finances are huge,” Bjork said. “Let me be very clear in this next part: Texas A&M Athletics and the 12th Man Foundation will be the sole sources of the necessary funds to cover these transition costs.”
Texas A&M signed Fisher to a 10-year, fully guaranteed, $75 million contract in December 2017 after spending 10 years at Florida State. The massive buyout follows a four-year extension signed in 2021 that increased Fisher’s annual salary from $7.5 million to $9 million.
Under his contract, Texas A&M owes Fisher $19.2 million within 60 days and $7.2 million annually through 2031. Annual payments begin 120 days after his discharge.
“That’s an institutional decision, but I take responsibility,” Bjork said. “I knew what was coming on the market later that fall. So I knew at that moment that it was the right decision because that was the information we had.
‘It clearly didn’t work out. We will learn from that and ensure that we do not make the same mistakes again.’
The Aggies were 26-10 during Fisher’s first three seasons, including a No. 4 ranking in 2020. Over the past three seasons, Fisher led the team to a 19-15 record, including an active nine-game away losing streak. .
“There was something that wasn’t clicking and giving everyone in the program confidence,” Bjork said. ‘You have to adapt, you have to evolve. I’m not going to say whether he did it or not, but it didn’t work.’
Defensive line coach Elijah Robinson will serve as interim coach until Texas A&M finds a full-time replacement.