With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, the Texas A&M Aggies decided they had seen enough from head coach Jimbo Fisher. Despite the Aggies winning 51-10 over the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the fact that Fisher was under contract and carried a $76 million buyout, Texas A&M fired Fisher. With that, the team will have to pay Fisher $19.2 million within 60 days of his firing and pay $7.2 million annually through 2031, per ESPN's Pete Thamel.
Now, the Aggies faithful await to see who the team will hire to replace Fisher and hopefully bring them to national championship contention.
During an appearance on ESPN's Get Up, former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky brought up Colorado head coach Deion Sanders. First Take host Stephen A. Smith agreed with Orlovsky, saying that Sanders needs to head to the SEC.
Stephen A. Smith wants to see Deion Sanders as Texas A&M head coach
"That's what I've been saying," said Smith. "Deion Sanders in the SEC with that vault they have available to them, with them hogs he could recruit, because he doesn't have them at Colorado, and he ain't going to get them. I don't think they'll do it...
"Texas A&M? 'Primetime' Deion Sanders in the SEC? That needs to happen."
Last year, Sanders made the jump from Jackson State to become the new head coach for Colorado on a five-year contract with a $29.5 million annual salary. The Buffaloes got off to a 3-0 start under Sanders with wins over the TCU Horned Frogs, Nebraska Cornhuskers, and Colorado State Rams. The Buffaloes have gone 1-5 since that start and are in danger of missing out on a bowl game, needing two wins in the final two weeks to qualify.
As for the Aggies, they will now have to find someone who they feel can be an improvement over what Fisher had done in his six years with the program. The Athletic's Bruce Feldman mentions in an article that he's heard the Aggies are interested in Kansas head coach Lance Leipold and Duke sideline boss Mike Elko to replace Fisher.
Leipold, Feldman writes is "expected to be high" on Texas A&M's list of candidates, considering the success he's had with Kansas. As for Elko, he was the Aggies' former defensive coordinator from 2018-21 before accepting the Duke job in 2022.
The Aggies will be deep-diving in their list of candidates to see who would be interested in the job. As for Sanders, he has spoken extensively and glowingly about how the culture and community have changed at Colorado since arriving as head coach. It's unknown if he will ever leave the team shortly. But one thing is for certain -- when there is a high-profile head coaching opportunity available, Sanders' name will immediately be brought up as an option.