A reputable national college football correspondent seems confident that Clarksburg native and former Florida State and Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher will most likely not be coming to Morgantown to fill the West Virginia football head coaching gig.
Fisher is a favorite due to his West Virginia ties, a 128-48 overall record as a head coach, and his 2013 national championship. But according to what Yahoo Sports college football reporter Ross Dellenger said on Tuesday, it seems that Fisher won't be returning to the sidelines yet.
"One that is maybe more realistic, but not happening, from what I understand, is the Jimbo Fisher thing, too. I don't think we'll see Jimbo Fisher or Nick Saban coach at West Virginia," Dellenger said on the College Football Enquirer podcast by Yahoo Sports
Dellenger's word should count for a lot considering his reputation as a reporter covering the sport nationally at the highest levels, but there is another very intriguing reason as to why his reporting on this particular candidate should carry weight. That is the fact that Dellenger was the reporter to originally break the news that Texas A&M was considering terminating Fisher last season.
It's also worth noting that WVU Athletic Director Wren Baker mentioned during his press conference Tuesday that "integrity" was a "non-negotiable" factor in hiring the new coach for the Mountaineers.
In 2019, a report broke regarding Fisher's tenure at Florida State that included details such as the fact that the Seminoles had the worst Academic Progress Rate score of any power conference program in FBS football and were on the verge of an automatic postseason ban. The report said Fisher had also issued a mandate to his coaching staff to "keep players eligible" no matter what, which was confirmed by then-Florida State Athletic Director David Coburn.
Considering Baker's focus on integrity, it might track that he wouldn't be interested in a coach with such a poor track record in his approached to academics within the program.