Fanastic Athletic article for those who have the subscription. It seems like Jimbo's arrogance with his outdated system and bad roster management were the two biggest problems. I pulled the most telling quotes below. Do we have a lot of these similar issues with our stubborn head coach?
https://theathletic.com/5085961/202...ing-record/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983
“Jimbo’s scheme was antiquated in 2014 when he won a national championship at Florida State,” an opposing SEC staffer said. “It was kind of out-of-date then, and it’s just not gotten better in 10 years.”
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In August, Petrino called the offensive installation “a collective effort” but said he would handle play-calling duties. Bjork confirmed Petrino did call the plays this season, but three athletic department sources said Petrino didn’t have full offensive control and that he called plays primarily from Fisher’s offensive scheme.
So why hire Petrino or a coordinator at all?
“He felt like he had to, just for perception,” the athletic department staffer said. “His ego would never allow him to (relinquish offensive control). He wants to prove to everybody, ‘See, my scheme works.’”
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“He liked confirmation,” a former A&M assistant said. “Sometimes the coaches would just say whatever they thought he wanted to hear because they’d be burned out in meetings. … You knew he was gonna do whatever he wanted to do anyways.”
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But the pursuit of the top-ranked 2022 class, which is the highest-rated in the modern era, became an obsession for Fisher and his staff, to the point that Fisher inquired about the 247Sports Class Calculator and how certain commits would affect A&M’s recruiting ranking. The former A&M recruiting staffer said Fisher ignored character questions if the recruits were five-star prospects.
“He’s like, ‘Nope, he’s a five-star, we wanna take him,’” the staffer said.
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“It’s like we’ve collected the most talent possible but I don’t think it was really strategically done the way you’d build a roster,” the current team staffer said. “They were just acquiring talent. I don’t know how much of a team it was.”
That could apply to the staff as well. Although Fisher had three former head coaches on his staff — Petrino, defensive coordinator DJ Durkin and offensive line coach Steve Addazio — and trusted them to do their jobs, team staffers say Fisher provided no clear direction on how people were supposed to operate.
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“He was the only one who could make a decision,” the athletic department staffer said. “Nobody else was empowered to make a decision.”
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The Fisher hire proved that it’s not as simple as pairing a big-time coach with a ton of resources. There are no shortcuts to a championship. Texas A&M must find its man to build the program without skipping steps.
https://theathletic.com/5085961/202...ing-record/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983
“Jimbo’s scheme was antiquated in 2014 when he won a national championship at Florida State,” an opposing SEC staffer said. “It was kind of out-of-date then, and it’s just not gotten better in 10 years.”
--
In August, Petrino called the offensive installation “a collective effort” but said he would handle play-calling duties. Bjork confirmed Petrino did call the plays this season, but three athletic department sources said Petrino didn’t have full offensive control and that he called plays primarily from Fisher’s offensive scheme.
So why hire Petrino or a coordinator at all?
“He felt like he had to, just for perception,” the athletic department staffer said. “His ego would never allow him to (relinquish offensive control). He wants to prove to everybody, ‘See, my scheme works.’”
--
“He liked confirmation,” a former A&M assistant said. “Sometimes the coaches would just say whatever they thought he wanted to hear because they’d be burned out in meetings. … You knew he was gonna do whatever he wanted to do anyways.”
--
But the pursuit of the top-ranked 2022 class, which is the highest-rated in the modern era, became an obsession for Fisher and his staff, to the point that Fisher inquired about the 247Sports Class Calculator and how certain commits would affect A&M’s recruiting ranking. The former A&M recruiting staffer said Fisher ignored character questions if the recruits were five-star prospects.
“He’s like, ‘Nope, he’s a five-star, we wanna take him,’” the staffer said.
--
“It’s like we’ve collected the most talent possible but I don’t think it was really strategically done the way you’d build a roster,” the current team staffer said. “They were just acquiring talent. I don’t know how much of a team it was.”
That could apply to the staff as well. Although Fisher had three former head coaches on his staff — Petrino, defensive coordinator DJ Durkin and offensive line coach Steve Addazio — and trusted them to do their jobs, team staffers say Fisher provided no clear direction on how people were supposed to operate.
--
“He was the only one who could make a decision,” the athletic department staffer said. “Nobody else was empowered to make a decision.”
--
The Fisher hire proved that it’s not as simple as pairing a big-time coach with a ton of resources. There are no shortcuts to a championship. Texas A&M must find its man to build the program without skipping steps.
