As could be expected, Jimbo Fisher’s ego got in the way of Bobby Petrino’s success at Texas A&M. The latter blamed the Aggies’ offensive incompetence on the former, and his giant ego.
Petrino, who recently accepted the same job at Arkansas, called plays for the Aggies all season. Or did he?
Fisher was reluctant to hand over the keys during the offseason. He eventually allowed his veteran offensive coordinator to take over primary play-calling duties.
However, according to Petrino, the narcissistic head coach never allowed him to install his offense.
Fisher wanted to keep his system. Fisher wanted to keep all of his terminology.
That not only frustrated Petrino, but forced him to spend a lot of needless hours and late nights learning a whole new scheme that was not his own. Fisher wanted it to be done his way.
It always seemed like a recipe for disaster when Fisher hired Petrino away from his job as a head coach on the FCS level to become the offensive coordinator in College Station. Sure enough, it was!
Texas A&M, a college football team that had national title hopes coming into the season, finished 7-5. It finished with the 53rd-ranked offense in the country in 2023.
With Fisher gone and a new staff set to arrive under Mike Elko, Petrino bounced. Sam Pittman called him up earlier this month and pitched him on a return to Arkansas. Not long thereafter, ink was on the paper!
The ever-controversial 62-year-old vows to do things his way in Fayetteville. Bobby Petrino sounds thrilled that Sam Pittman is not Jimbo Fisher, and that his new head coach will allow him to run his offense how his offense runs. There will be no ego involved. There will be no micromanaging.
Fisher couldn’t relinquish the fact that he had not won 10 games since 2016. Fisher could not relinquish his self-importance.