MORGANTOWN, West Virginia — Jimbo Fisher was fired over the weekend and will be paid a reported $76 million in his contract buyout by Texas A&M. Rich Rodriguez, who is now the head coach of the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, seemed to sympathize with both Fisher and Texas A&M when he spoke to The Anniston Star in Anniston, Alabama.
“People make a lot of the buyout and all that but it is still, you know I’ve kind of been there,” Jacksonville State coach Rich Rodriguez said. “It is still disappointing when you put so much work in and you don’t really get to finish the job. But Jimbo, we all in this are big boys. We understand the profession and A&M has got a lot of resources.
“I’m sure they have a plan going forward. Still, when people talk a lot about the buyout it is pretty enormous. You think about it, golly it is hard to wrap your head around that much money I guess, but there is still disappointment because you’ve put a lot of work in, they’ve recruited very well and I think they probably believe they were close.”
Fisher, 58, served as the quarterbacks coach on Rodriguez’s Glenville State team back in the 1990s and the two men have known each other since high school.
“Everybody is trying really hard to win and there are measurable numbers when you win,” he said. “And sometimes I don’t think I’ve enjoyed the wins as much as I’ve been miserable with the losses. I think probably we as coaches can do that. When we win, we should enjoy it more.”
