Texas A&M on Sunday made the stunning decision to fire head football coach Jimbo Fisher.
Fisher took over at Texas A&M before the start of the 2018 season, and he came in with high expectations. He led the school to three bowl games, including an Orange Bowl win in 2020, but the team started to decline from there.
The school took care of Fisher at that time. He signed a 10-year contract when he got to College Station and, after his immediate success, he was extended through the 2031 season before the 2021 season kicked off. It also came with a large buyout should the school fire him.
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The chickens came home to roost, and now the university owes him a giant paycheck.
Fisher is owed between $75 and $77 million, and the money will come regardless of whether he finds a new head coaching job, according to The Associated Press. It is more than triple the largest known buyout given to a fired head coach.
Texas A&M athletics director Ross Bjork said 25% of what he is owed -- $19 million – is due within 60 days, and the first of several installments of about $7 million must be paid within 120 days.
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"We will use unrestricted contributions within the 12th Man Foundation for the first one-time payment and the athletic department will fund the annual payments for the remaining portion by growing our revenues and adjusting our annual operating budget accordingly," Bjork said on Sunday.
Bjork said the school "has to learn a lesson" from the Fisher contract.
"Although this is a major, major financial decision that comes with many consequences, we have a plan and we will not let this impact the performance or the culture of our entire athletics program," he added.
Texas A&M defeated Mississippi State soundly, 51-10, on Saturday, but Bjork said Fisher was dismissed over the totality of how the football program was operating.
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"You’re either moving forward or you’re stuck. We were stuck ... something was not working to reach our full potential," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
