He has heard zydeco music.
He has tasted Cajun food.
He has read the novels of James Lee Burke.
Why, then, would Jimbo Fisher go to LSU?
Oh, it’s obvious why LSU would want Fisher. Heck, who wouldn’t? Along with Urban Meyer and Nick Saban, he’s one of the best coaches working today. He can coach, he can recruit, he can run a program. So anyone who needs a coach – and it’s sounding a lot like LSU will be one of them – would be interested in Fisher.
But it would be stunning, staggering, incredible if Fisher were to leave.
Thanks, but no thanks.
Coaches simply do not leave established top 20 programs to go to other established top 20 programs. They just don’t. They may flirt, and they may negotiate a raise. But they aren’t likely to move from this castle to that one.
Look at the coaches of the top 25 programs in football. None of them – not one – got its current coach by raiding another established coach. The closest would be Ohio State, which hired Urban Meyer from Florida. But even then, there was a stint at ESPN and a return to healthy before it happened. Oh, they came from the NFL (Nick Saban and Jim Harbaugh). They came from smaller colleges (Notre Dame and Michigan State). They came from the staffs of their school (Clemson and FSU). A couple even were assistants at another college (Oklahoma and Houston).
But does Southern Cal try to hire its new coach from, say, Alabama? Does Oklahoma try to hire from Michigan? Remember, Texas tried mightily to flirt with Saban. It only got Saban a raise.
That’s probably what’s going to happen here. Fisher will probably answer the phone, and he’ll probably talk about possibilities. But would he really leave a recruiting class that is as good as third in the nation? Would he abandon the kids in his locker room?
It was interesting the other day when Fisher wouldn’t talk to the media about the LSU job. That’s fine and good, of course. But you know whose questions Fisher will answer? The questions of his highly rated recruiting class, for one. What is he going to say when a recruit asks “Are you going to be there, coach?”
Oh, there may be circumstances that would heighten Fisher’s interest. Most people are aware he was divorced last year. But he has two sons, one of them with a blood disease. It’s hard to imagine that being a long-distance dad appeals to him.
Money? FSU should be competitive, even a year after his extension. It would cost FSU more than dollars if Fisher were to leave.
Look, Fisher may not be a lifer at FSU the way that his predecessor, Bobby Bowden, was. The NFL, in particular, might interest him. Back when Lovie Smith’s team was struggling, it was easy to imagine him on the Bucs’ sideline, reunited with Jameis Winston. At least that’s a different animal.
This has to occur to Fisher, too. On the morning that the noise started at LSU about Les Miles leaving, the Tigers were a two-loss team. So was FSU. But the Seminoles still loved Fisher, while the Tigers were calling for Miles’ head.
Different expectations. Different appreciation.
If you’re Fisher, do the old line-down-the-sheet-of-paper trick. On one side, you’ve got a solid program, a guaranteed recruiting class and a situation you know. On the other, you have LSU’s passion and its money.
Hey, Mike the Tiger may be cool.
But he’s not that cool.
