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What is the latest on Jimbo Fisher?

Chris Mortensen has reported on 680 the Fan in Atlanta that he believes that Fisher is going to FSU. He did this report after meeting with Saban earlier today.
 
Saw on Tider Insider that it is predicted that an announcement would be made at 4 or 5 PM. I assume CST. Hope that is true. This is not from Rodney but reliable poster.
 
37bamagrl said:
i'm surprised if he's going to fsu it hasn't already happened, does that mean he's trying to decide between the two?
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He is definitely trying to decide between the two. But after Mort talked to Saban today he felt that Fisher was going to most likely end up at FSU.
 
Matthew said:
I think that it is at least worth mentioning that Jimbo might be a little bit gunshy dealign with the University of Alabama. It was only a couple weeks ago that the BOT cost him the opportunity to be the HEAD COACH at UAB.

I would love to see him come, but if he goes in a different direction then we will have to wonder what part that could have played in the decision.
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There might be some merit to those statements IF, and that's a big IF, the BOT did tamper, but down the line, when UAB has hired/fired 5-6 more unsuccessful coaches that go nowhere after UAB, I think JF will look back and realize that the BOT did him a BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG favor. IMO, that is a dead-end job - poor, make that terrible facilities, VERY DIFFICULT to recruit, a campus spread throughout the struggling city of B'ham, etc., etc. Best case scenario for UAB is to go DII, I-AA or something along those lines.
 
There is a give and take though. While Fisher might not have outstanding facilities and such to work with at UAB, the expectations are also lower. UAB administrators at this point would be happy with someone that could get UAB to the point where they're competing for a conference title and/or a bowl game at least every year or every other year. That leaves alot more room for error. At place like Alabama, though, everything is under a microscope and the expectations are through the roof. At UAB, a coach has a chance to make history without having to go undefeated and winning a national championship or something. At Alabama, though, it's always going to be compared to Bear Bryant, Gene Stallings, or others. UAB = ultimate job security. One need only look at the fact that the Board of Trustees allowed Watson to sit around and do jack crap for 12 years getting UAB only 2-3 winning seasons in that time. So for those reasons, there's alot of upside for coaches looking at a place like UAB. For someone like Saban, it'd absolutely be suicide most likely. But for someone up and coming, it's a perfect opportunity to learn and grow in a lower stress environment.

BTW, UAB is not going to have that much trouble recruiting. The biggest thing hampering recruiting right now is facilities. In the past, Watson simply coaching at UAB was a negative when it came to recruiting. Now, that's eliminated. UAB has some much-needed facility upgrades on the near horizon, so that should help. But as far as not being able to recruit because of the city location, that's just false. In fact, some of our top talent over the last few years have chosen UAB exactly FOR that city feel that doesn't exist at alot of other colleges, particularly SEC colleges.
 
B'hamBlazers said:
There is a give and take though. While Fisher might not have outstanding facilities and such to work with at UAB, the expectations are also lower. UAB administrators at this point would be happy with someone that could get UAB to the point where they're competing for a conference title and/or a bowl game at least every year or every other year. That leaves alot more room for error. At place like Alabama, though, everything is under a microscope and the expectations are through the roof. At UAB, a coach has a chance to make history without having to go undefeated and winning a national championship or something. At Alabama, though, it's always going to be compared to Bear Bryant, Gene Stallings, or others. UAB = ultimate job security. One need only look at the fact that the Board of Trustees allowed Watson to sit around and do jack crap for 12 years getting UAB only 2-3 winning seasons in that time. So for those reasons, there's alot of upside for coaches looking at a place like UAB. For someone like Saban, it'd absolutely be suicide most likely. But for someone up and coming, it's a perfect opportunity to learn and grow in a lower stress environment.

BTW, UAB is not going to have that much trouble recruiting. The biggest thing hampering recruiting right now is facilities. In the past, Watson simply coaching at UAB was a negative when it came to recruiting. Now, that's eliminated. UAB has some much-needed facility upgrades on the near horizon, so that should help. But as far as not being able to recruit because of the city location, that's just false. In fact, some of our top talent over the last few years have chosen UAB exactly FOR that city feel that doesn't exist at alot of other colleges, particularly SEC colleges.
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There's definitely some truth in the lowered expectations and security based on WB, but I don't think someone like JF would be happy with just "surviving" - he has "survived" coaching under Saban and has made good money doing it. Personally, for the $$ UAB was offering, I think he would be better off taking that amount of money as an OC at FSU with the potential of taking over after Diddy.

On the recruiting, I am good friends with UAB's ex-recruiter and he was named one of the best recruiters in the country by one publication, but he has told me many times how difficult it is because of the location, facilities, past record, and other external factors that are still there. He has also told me how hard he had to work to get those guys to come when many of them only had offers from UAB, Cincinnatti, So Miss., UCF, etc. For all that hard work, he got to go to Samford with Sullivan. He is a young guy, but you shouldn't have to go to Samford when you leave UAB, but IMO, that just backs up my point about that being a tough job to overcome.
 
B'hamBlazers said:
There is a give and take though. While Fisher might not have outstanding facilities and such to work with at UAB, the expectations are also lower. UAB administrators at this point would be happy with someone that could get UAB to the point where they're competing for a conference title and/or a bowl game at least every year or every other year. That leaves alot more room for error. At place like Alabama, though, everything is under a microscope and the expectations are through the roof. At UAB, a coach has a chance to make history without having to go undefeated and winning a national championship or something.
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I would think that's exactly the reason you'd never see a coach like Jimbo Fisher take the HC position there. I think Fisher, and others like him, have a burning desire to win. They'd never be satisfied with just getting by. To win at the level those type competitors strive for, they need the complete backing of the administration. If I were a coach, I'd certainly not be interested in a school that didn't put a premium on winning. Why even field a team if you don't care about winning?
 
NBF_Bama_Cavalry said:
I would think that's exactly the reason you'd never see a coach like Jimbo Fisher take the HC position there. I think Fisher, and others like him, have a burning desire to win. They'd never be satisfied with just getting by. To win at the level those type competitors strive for, they need the complete backing of the administration. If I were a coach, I'd certainly not be interested in a school that didn't put a premium on winning. Why even field a team if you don't care about winning?
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Thank you. You summed up what I was trying to say, but poorly articulated.:smile:
 
UAB is a tough job, no doubt... you're starting from scratch basically. There are VERY limited training facilities, no oncampus stadium, a history of failure under Watson Brown, the bad reputation of downtown living in Birmingham, etc. There are, however, a number of factors hampering UAB that have nothing to do with UAB. Despite these obstacles, attendance is still increasing and the quality of recruits went up (even under Watson Brown). Neil Callaway is most likely a better coach than Watson (wouldn't take much), but he's certainly not UAB's top candidate. The great irony in all of this is that though the Board of Trustees claim to have had no involvement in the process whatsoever, Callaway got up at the press conference when he was announced as coach and said that he "made calls to some trustees" to help make his case for the UAB job.
 
IMHO UAB football is one the way up - People can say what they will about Callaway but he has been around winning programs , I really think he will do well with the Blazers.

If they could just a get a modest oncampus stadium it'd be great - The college football 'experience' is all about being on campus. Even if legion field was in decent shape - good location a college needs it's on campus stadium

I am not going to anty game at Legion field but if they were on campus then sure I'd go see UAB play. I am Alabama fan from birth but I all for UAB athletics succeeding
 
MM4TIDE said:
Maybe people don't know he testified against us. If it's true he should never coach here. I hadn't heard that until i read the post from graytide.
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You're probably right, I just assumed that most every Bama fan knew this. My mistake. :redface:
 
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