It's one thing to know, and another thing to know.
Every one of us knew Texas A&M would not pay the $86 million to get out from under Jimbo Fisher's contract following a disastrous 2022 campaign that saw the Aggies began at No. 6 and end with five wins, but two A&M sources communicated to The Athletic that the Aggies never even seriously considered dismissing Fisher.
In fact, the sources told The Athletic that A&M wouldn't have considered making a move even if the $86 million figure was cut in half.
All of this tracks. The largest buyout on record paid to a coach is Auburn's Gus Malzahn deal, which owed the coach $21.5 million upon his 2020 exit. Cutting Fisher's 2022 buyout in half would still more than double Malzahn's buyout.
To use another comparison: Fisher's 2022 buyout is bigger than the figures Texas and Oklahoma separately owe to get out of the Big 12 early. And both schools are waiting it out to 2025 rather than join the SEC early.
In reality, the $86 million figure wasn't even $86 million.
That astronomical figure would just be owed to Fisher himself. It doesn't include the cost to dismiss the rest of his staff -- defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin has two years remaining on his contract, to name one assistant -- which would pale in comparison to the head man's $86 million figure but also add up quickly.
And then there's the biggest unasked, unanswered question: if A&M fired Jimbo, it'd have to turn around and go hire a new head coach. What kind of deal do we think he would demand, knowing what A&M paid the last guy?
All told, the cost to move on from Jimbo Fisher in time for the 2023 season could cost Texas A&M in the neighborhood of $150 million in total commitment, just to 22 men on the two hypothetical coaching staffs.
According to the established narrative, getting out from under Fisher's contract will only become palatable some time around 2028. Here's what A&M is set to owe its head coach after each season through the life of the deal, which expires after the 2031 season.
- 2022: $85,950,000
- 2023: $76,800,000
- 2024: $67,550,000
- 2025: $58,200,000
- 2026: $48,750,000
- 2027: $39,200,000
- 2028: $29,550,000
- 2029: $19,800,000
- 2030: $9,950,000
Obviously, the plan in College Station is that it never comes to that. Fisher is in the midst of finding an offensive coordinator who will take ownership over that side of the ball, allowing Fisher to assume a global view of the program. If Coordinator X can handle the offense, Jimbo can devote himself full time to managing the roster and the culture -- which clearly played as big a part in A&M's midseason 6-game losing streak as the issues with the offense -- and those efforts can work in tandem to produce a repeat of the 2020 season, not the 2022 campaign.
And even if A&M hands out a record contract to its new offensive coordinator, it will still come at a fraction of the price of paying Jimbo's full freight.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.