Texas A&M prepared to pursue Jimbo Fisher
Jimbo Fisher
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Florida State Seminoles head coach Jimbo Fisher . (Photo: Glenn Beil  USA TODAY Sports)
Texas A&M is expected to inquire about the interest level of Florida State coach  Jimbo Fisher  once its separation from current coach Kevin Sumlin is official at the end of the season  according to two people familiar with the situation.
Though  Fisher  has never given serious consideration to leaving Florida State previously  rebuffing interest from LSU the last two years  one person close to  Fisher  pointed to  his  longstanding relationship with Texas A&M athletics director Scott Woodward and the current disappointing season at Florida State as reasons why Texas A&Mâs pursuit might be more realistic.
Woodward arrived as an administrator at LSU in 2000  the same year  Fisher  was hired there as offensive coordinator under Nick Saban. They have remained in touch and friendly over the years  according to a person familiar with Fisherâs thinking.
Itâs far more uncertain whether  Fisher  would ultimately decide to leave a school where  he  has invested eight seasons as a head coach and three as the coach-in-waiting under Bobby Bowden  restoring the Seminoles to their former glory during a run of three consecutive ACC titles between 2012-14.
 Fisher  also has security at Florida State  as  he  is signed at $5.55 million annually through the 2024 season. The contract contains two automatic one-year rollovers that go into effect after each nine-win regular season.
Another significant factor is  his  family situation. Fisher and his ex-wife Candi divorced in December 2015  and their youngest son Ethan battles Fanconi anemia  a rare blood disorder. In previous discussions  staying close to his children has been a factor in  Fisher âs thinking about other jobs.
However  this season has gone poorly for  Fisher   as the Seminoles started at No. 3 in the polls but have stumbled to a 3-6 record. If he stays   Fisher  will be expected to tweak his coaching staff  as the Seminoles have been out of the ACC title race by the end of September each of the last two years.
Last month  after Florida Stateâs 31-28 home loss to Louisville   Fisher  confronted a fan who yelled âNew coaches  new coaches!â as the team walked off the field.
 Jimbo Fisher  talks about getting into it with a fan that was calling for coaching changes after the loss to 31-28 Louisville. pic.twitter.com/3cW038rllP â Warchant.com (@Warchant) October 21  2017
Last week  when  Fisher  was asked about Florida Stateâs rivalry with Clemson   he  added fuel to the fire with a comment that seemed to indicate  he  believes Clemson  with its new $55 million football facility  has surpassed Florida State in its financial commitment to winning national titles.
âI think their rise has come from their commitment to football â  Fisher  said. âTheyâve been committed but their administration has done a tremendous job of spending and doing and building. Not just building  but all the things behind the scenes.â
Asked what commitments  he âd like to see from Florida State   Fisher  responded: âThose things are a major  major deal. Unfortunately  in this business  when you get into the facilities business  youâre never out of it. Youâre never out of development. Your company can never quit growing. Whether itâs that or behind the scenes things  support staff  all that can never happen. It can never go away. If it does  people fly by you like crazy. And thereâs numerous examples across this country. If you donât understand that  youâre missing the boat.â
Those comments were not well-received among FSU fans and administrators  particularly given the contract extension  Fisher  received last December and the multimillion-dollar facility upgrades the school has made under  his  watch.
Fisherâs contract states that his only buyout responsibility to Florida State if he left would be the amount guaranteed to his assistant coaches â potentially as much as $7.2 million  but likely far less â as the contract is written in a way to protect the school from having to buy out those staff members should a new coach decide not to honor those contracts. In other words  if  Fisher  brought some or most of those staff members to a new school  their salaries likely wouldnât be owed to Florida State.
Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports' Paul Myerberg breaks down the Auburn Tigers' and Miami Hurricanes' big wins and what it means going forward.   [TGT] 
 . (Photo: Glenn Beil  USA TODAY Sports)
Texas A&M is expected to inquire about the interest level of Florida State coach   [TGT] once its separation from current coach Kevin Sumlin is official at the end of the season  according to two people familiar with the situation.
Though   [TGT] has never given serious consideration to leaving Florida State previously  rebuffing interest from LSU the last two years  one person close to   [TGT] pointed to   [TGT]   longstanding relationship with Texas A&M athletics director Scott Woodward and the current disappointing season at Florida State as reasons why Texas A&Mâs pursuit might be more realistic.
Woodward arrived as an administrator at LSU in 2000  the same year   [TGT] was hired there as offensive coordinator under Nick Saban.  [TGT]  have remained in touch and friendly over the years  according to a person familiar with Fisherâs thinking.
Itâs far more uncertain whether   [TGT] would ultimately decide to leave a school where   [TGT]   has invested eight seasons as a head coach and three as the coach-in-waiting under Bobby Bowden  restoring the Seminoles to  [TGT]  former glory during a run of three consecutive ACC titles between 2012-14.
  [TGT] also has security at Florida State  as   [TGT]   is signed at $5.55 million annually through the 2024 season. The contract contains two automatic one-year rollovers that go into effect after each nine-win regular season.
Another significant factor is  his  family situation. Fisher and his ex-wife Candi divorced in December 2015  and their youngest son Ethan battles Fanconi anemia  a rare blood disorder. In previous discussions  staying close to his children has been a factor in   [TGT]  âs thinking about other jobs.
However  this season has gone poorly for  Fisher   as the Seminoles started at No. 3 in the polls but have stumbled to a 3-6 record. If  [TGT]  stays    [TGT] will be expected to tweak  [TGT]  coaching staff  as the Seminoles have been out of the ACC title race by the end of September each of the last two years.
Last month  after Florida Stateâs 31-28 home loss to Louisville    [TGT] confronted a fan who yelled âNew coaches  new coaches!â as the team walked off the field.
  [TGT] talks about getting into it with a fan that was calling for coaching changes after the loss to 31-28 Louisville. pic.twitter.com/3cW038rllP â Warchant.com (@Warchant) October 21  2017
Last week  when   [TGT] was asked about Florida Stateâs rivalry with Clemson    [TGT]   added fuel to the fire with a comment that seemed to indicate   [TGT]   believes Clemson  with its new $55 million football facility  has surpassed Florida State in its financial commitment to winning national titles.
âI think their rise has come from their commitment to football â   [TGT] said. âTheyâve been committed but their administration has done a tremendous job of spending and doing and building. Not just building  but all the things behind the scenes.â
Asked what commitments  he âd like to see from Florida State    [TGT] responded: âThose things are a major  major deal. Unfortunately  in this business  when you get into the facilities business  youâre never out of it. Youâre never out of development. Your company can never quit growing. Whether itâs that or behind the scenes things  support staff  all that can never happen. It can never go away. If it does  people fly by you like crazy. And thereâs numerous examples across this country. If you donât understand that  youâre missing the boat.â
Those comments were not well-received among FSU fans and administrators  particularly given the contract extension  Fisher  received last December and the multimillion-dollar facility upgrades the school has made under  his  watch.
Fisherâs contract states that his only buyout responsibility to Florida State if he left would be the amount guaranteed to his assistant coaches â potentially as much as $7.2 million  but likely far less â as the contract is written in a way to protect the school from having to buy out those staff members should a new coach decide not to honor those contracts. In other words  if  Fisher  brought some or most of those staff members to a new school  their salaries likely wouldnât be owed to Florida State.