Texas A&M coaching candidates: Who will replace Jimbo Fisher?
The Aggies have big dreams and a lot of money. Who will they reel in to a job that has the chance to completely alter this year's coaching market?
Jimbo Fisher is out at Texas A&M after six years and a 45-25 overall record. You can’t really blame the Aggies for hiring or firing Fisher, who had won a national title and produced three first-round picks at quarterback while at Florida State, but the fact that the school is shelling out $76 million in buyout money speaks to the significance of the move.
A coaching carousel that was short on movement suddenly got turbocharged Sunday, as A&M has a chance to shake up the landscape by landing a big-name coach. Let’s take a look at some potential candidates:
Mike Elko, Duke. The former A&M defensive coordinator has worked a minor miracle at Duke, going 9-4 in Year 1 and 6-4 this season, including a dominant opening night win over Clemson. Considering the Blue Devils were coming off three straight losing seasons, this is nothing to overlook. Elko remade defenses at Wake Forest and Notre Dame, and he will likely have options in the short- and long-term. Do his four years under the pressure-cooker of working for Fisher in College Station give him pause with this job? Or is the pull of A&M’s resources too much to ignore?
Kalen DeBoer, Washington. You could argue that no coach in the country has been better across the past two years. Washington is 10-0 now with the Heisman frontrunner in Michael Penix Jr., after going 11-2 in DeBoer’s debut season. The 49-year-old DeBoer won three NAIA national titles and went 67-3 at Sioux Falls. If the Huskies are in the Playoff, landing DeBoer would get complicated. But money will be no obstacle for A&M.