After weeks of speculation, Jimbo Fisher will in fact be leaving his job as head coach of the Florida State Seminoles and become the new head coach of the Texas A&M Aggies.
Fisher told university President John Thrasher on Friday morning that he was resigning to accept Texas A&M's offer.
"I believe Texas A&M is getting one of the best coaches in college football. We appreciate all he has done for our program and wish him and his family great success moving forward," Thrasher said in a statement that closed days of speculation about Fisher's future.
The decision comes after a tumultuous week in Tallahassee as Fisher refused to answer questions about a potential move despite varied reports.
In his eight seasons in Tallahassee, Fisher had a record of 83-23 that included three ACC championships and the 2013 national title. He takes over an Aggies team that finished with an above .500 record in SEC games just one time and finished the 2017 regular season with a 7-5 record, losing three of their final five games.
Fisher is just the fourth head coach to leave a school where he has won an AP national championship and go directly to another college job. The last to do it was Johnny Majors, who went from Pittsburgh to Tennessee in 1977.
"President Thrasher and I have worked together through this challenging period while coach Fisher was making a decision, and I appreciate the cooperation, support and leadership he has provided," athletic director Stan Wilcox said. "We are extremely pleased by the quality of individuals who have already expressed interest in being the head coach at Florida State University. I am confident we will fill the position very soon."
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Florida State (5-6) faces Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday and needs a win to be bowl eligible for a 36th consecutive season. Wilcox said defensive line coach Odell Haggins will be the interim coach.
Fisher, who was the offensive coordinator and head coach in waiting for three seasons before taking over the team in 2010, will be reunited with Scott Woodward, the athletics director at Texas A&M who served in the same position at LSU when Fisher was an assistant coach under Nick Saban during the early 2000's.
