The Texas A&M Aggies made waves across the college football landscape on Sunday by handing out the largest contract buyout in the sport’s history to their now-former head football coach. That’s because the Aggies officially fired longtime coach Jimbo Fisher after 70 games in College Station, with the program on the hook for the entirety of their former coach’s buyout, which is north of $76 million.
Fisher leaves A&M after going 45-25 (.643) with the program, leading the Aggies to an Orange Bowl win during the COVID-shortened 2020 season but failing to reach that standard afterward.
The Aggies sit at 6-4 for the year after routing Mississippi State (who also fired their head coach this week) 51-10 and sit in fourth place in the SEC West at 4-3 with games against Abilene Christian and No. 19 LSU remaining. Despite the program’s recent on-field malaise, Texas A&M’s opening is expected to be one of the most coveted on the market this offseason, thanks in large part to the large pockets that made firing Fisher possible in the first place.
Ahead of the Aggies’ Saturday home game against Abilene Christian, BetTexas.com used our Texas sports betting mindset and broke down the odds on who could replace Fisher in College Station as the program looks for its fifth head coach since 2011 in 2024.
Texas A&M Football Next Head Coach Odds
Below is some information you wouldn't likely find on Texas betting apps even if they were legal. Here are our odds for the next Texas A&M head coach.
Who Replaces Jimbo In College Station?
The top pick to replace Fisher is the man’s former defensive coordinator, with Mike Elko emerging as a go-to target after his two-year run in Durham with the Duke Blue Devils. Elko, who has gone 15-8 in two seasons with the Blue Devils, was named the ACC’s coach of the year in 2022 and has Duke bowl eligible for the second straight season after three-plus years of mediocrity.
Elko is our top target to replace Fisher, with +350 odds of being the next A&M head coach, while other Power Five head coaches are among those who will likely have a shot at the job in 2024. Chief among that field is current Oregon head coach and former Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning, who is listed alongside Pac-12 rival Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer on our list at +600 to be the next A&M coach.
Other names to keep an eye on are current head coaches like Lance Leipold of Kansas, who comes in at +900 to replace Fisher. Lane Kiffin of Ole Miss and Mike Norvell of Florida State come in at +1200 apiece. Right now, all we know is that A&M is officially on the hook for the largest contract buyout in college sports history, with the rest getting sorted out once the whistle sounds on the 2023 college football season this winter.
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