With a record-breaking $75 million buyout, Jimbo Fisher could afford to never coach again. In fact, that buyout -- which will probably never be broken, but no longer seems as ridiculous as it did back in 2023 -- is what Fisher's coaching career is best known for. Not the 128 wins, the Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant, his national championship ring as LSU's offensive coordinator, his national championship ring as Florida State's head coach, or his five top-10 finishes.
For someone as competitive enough to earn two national championship rings, plus two $75 million, fully-guaranteed contracts, that $75 million buyout represents the ultimate irony: it made him rich enough to never need to coach again, and also serves as a driving force to get him back into coaching.
“I never got into coaching for money,” Fisher told Yahoo. “Well, I’m not going to get out of it because I’ve got money."
Fisher has poked his head out more in 2025 than he did in 2024. He's a panelist on ACC Network, returned to Doak Campbell Stadium earlier this fall for the first time since his 2017 departure, and spoke at the Birmingham Monday Morning Quarterback Club where he spoke openly about his desire to get back into coaching.
"I want to coach somewhere that's committed to winning," Fisher told the Birmingham crowd, via CBS Sports. "Just make sure they give us the resources to be able to win. I know it's about money, but you've got to have the resources to put into the game to win and do it the right way. The grass is just as green everywhere."
The Yahoo piece, published Wednesday, represents something of a formal coming-out piece for the Jimbo comeback (Jim-back)? In it, it reveals Fisher told his agent Jimmy Sexton that he wanted back in weeks into the 2024 season. It also reveals that Fisher is deep into research and building a big board for prospective staff members.
Rebound coaches are experiencing success across FBS -- from Dan Mullen at UNLV to Jim Mora at UConn, with many points in between -- but the irony is that the candidate pool of boomerang candidates has never been deeper. The West Virginia native Fisher has been linked to Virginia Tech, but so, too, has James Franklin, who recruited the Tidewater region while at Penn State and was once the head coach-in-waiting at Maryland. Pat Fitzgerald wants back in, as do Mike Gundy and Ed Orgeron.
“When you’re away from something, it makes you reflect,” Fisher told Yahoo. “I’m back to watching film and have those feelings. I miss the players and those relationships. I miss practice. I miss the grind. I live to coach. I love to do what I did.”