Jimbo Fisher’s solution for Texas A&M’s offense, hiring Bobby Petrino as offensive coordinator, doesn’t inspire much confidence in his leadership.
Just when it looked like Jimbo Fisher had Texas A&M ready to contend for the SEC championship and the College Football Playoff, the Aggies dropped a 5-7 record in 2022. They lost to Appalachian State and had a six-game losing streak in the middle of the season.
Missing bowl season definitely wasn’t part of the plan. Having 27 players jumping ship to enter the transfer portal, many of them highly rated players, after the failed campaign wasn’t either.
With pressure mounting on Fisher, the head coach needed to make offseason moves to restore confidence in his program.
His solution? Bobby Petrino. Yes, that Bobby Petrino.
Jimbo Fisher’s plan for saving Texas A&M looks like a disaster in the making
Petrino would qualify as an example if you looked up “baggage” in the dictionary. The same probably goes for “disgrace.”
He left Louisville for the NFL shortly after signing a 10-year contract extension with the Cardinals. He quit on the Falcons less than a year into his tenure in the most classless way, promising Arthur Blank he’d stay, then resigning, leaving a Dear John letter for his players and taking a job with Arkansas within 24 hours.
His time at Arkansas ended in disaster despite some success on the field. He was fired after lying to Razorback officials about a motorcycle accident that occurred while the married head coach was driving with a female staffer, who he was having an undisclosed sexual relationship with even before she was hired.
After a year out of coaching, Petrino was hired by Western Kentucky as head coach. Similar to previous stints, he showed zero loyalty to the Hilltoppers, leaving for a second chance at Louisville.
That too ended poorly. The Cardinals fired the head coach with a 2-8 record in 2018 after he reportedly lost the team due to his approach with players. Lamar Jackson’s Heisman Trophy was the highlight of his tenure.
Petrino won’t have Jackson at Texas A&M. What he will have is loads of baggage and a reputation for abandoning programs, leaving them worse off than they were before. The latest of those is UNLV. He agreed to become the Rebels’ offensive coordinator after serving as the head coach at Missouri State for three years. He swapped Las Vegas for College Station after less than a month.
Now, the triumvirate of Fisher, Petrino and DJ Durkin, who was hired amid a slew of his own baggage from his management of the Maryland football program, will try to life Texas A&M back up to national relevance.
If you hold doubts it’ll work, you’re not alone.
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Read More Alicia de Artola