Swinney on Jimbo Fisher to A&M, what's next at Florida State |
Florida State will have a new head coach next season, but Clemson will still face Jimbo Fisher each of the next two seasons.
News broke with multiple reports that Fisher is Texas A&M-bound midway through Dabo Swinney's ACC Championship press conference Friday. Swinney took a moment to verify the breaking news and gave his immediate thoughts on Fisher's exit and what's next for the Seminoles. "I know he did an unbelievable job at Florida State," Swinney said. "This is a business that's very public as we all know. From time to time, you have to make decisions and sometimes those decisions are very public and the public is going to weigh in with how they feel about it...I like Jimbo. It's been a very competitive journey. I've known him forever. When I was at Alabama and he was at Auburn... "Evidently, he's doing what he feels is right for him and his family and the right time to do so. Florida State is Florida State and they'll hire a great coach and I don't have any doubt about that." Swinney started 1-4 against Fisher and evened up the record with three-straight wins and Atlantic Division titles from 2015-17. After taking over for Bobby Bowden in 2010, Fisher notched three ACC titles from 2012-14 and claimed a national championship in 2013, but went .500 over his last 20 ACC games with the school. In a twist of future scheduling, Clemson plays Fisher at Texas A&M come week two next season, on Sept. 8, as part of a home-and-home series that returns to Death Valley in 2019. "I can't get rid of him," Swinney said with a smile. "He'll still be a thorn in our side...I wish him nothing but the best and I'm sure I'll touch base with him at some point." Speculation over who's next in Tallahassee started earlier in the week, with reports of Oregon's Willie Taggart, Virginia Tech's Justin Fuente and former Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin among the early names.
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