'I ain’t going': Fisher emphatic about his plans to stay at Texas A&M

Persistent reports among national and Louisiana-based media suggest LSU continues to pursue Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher as its next football coach.

Asked about that flirtation on Monday, Fisher may as well have quoted an old Lori Morgan country song.

What part of ‘no’ don’t you understand?

“I’ve told everybody I’m staying here. I’ve told everybody I plan on being the coach at A&M,” Fisher said at his weekly press conference. “Everybody thinks all coaches lie. Y’all don’t believe us.

“I said, ‘I plan on being here. I love the AD (Ross Bjork). I love the president (Katherine Banks). I love the Chancellor (John Sharp). I love living here. I love being at my ranch. The family loves it here. I love Kyle Field. I love the people.’

“Obviously, that’s not good enough. I get it. I read reports. People come to me. I don’t want to hear it. I’m not interested.”

In response, Bjork tweeted that now maybe the speculation will finally end.

Last month, LSU announced it was parting ways with coach Ed Orgeron at the end of the season. There was immediate speculation that athletic director Scott Woodward — who was previously at A&M and hired Fisher — would lure Fisher to Baton Rouge.

Fisher has a guaranteed 10-year, $90 million contract but has no buy-out.

Fisher had previously said he planned to remain at A&M for the duration of his contract. Yet, speculation continued, and reports of his possible departure seemed to increase in recent weeks.

Fisher seems to have put an end to the speculation with an animated, though good-natured rant on Monday. He questioned the intelligence of a coach that would leave while assembling a stellar recruiting class.

A&M’s 2022 recruiting class is currently ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation and might climb higher.

“We’re going to recruit an unbelievable class this year,” Fisher said. “So, I’m either the dumbest human being on God’s Earth, who’s going to recruit all these guys to A&M so I can go across over here and go play against them. If I did that, you ought to say that’s the dumbest human being. I don’t want him to be my coach.

“We’re going to recruit a heck of a class. We’re going to have special things here. We’re building special things. They’re investing in the program. They’re investing in everything we’ve got. We’re building a culture.”

The Aggies are 7-3 and 4-3 in the Southeastern Conference heading into a non-conference game against Prairie View A&M on Saturday at Kyle Field.

Texas A&M was in contention to win the SEC West Division race until last Saturday when the Aggies were upset at Ole Miss, 29-19.

“We’re not where we (want to be),” Fisher said. “That was the disappointing thing about Saturday for me. We didn’t take a step in some of the things I thought we really should’ve.

“It wasn’t because of want-to. I’ve got to do a better job explaining to our players to get them to do it.”

Apparently, he also needed to do a better job of explaining to the national media and LSU of his intentions to remain at Texas A&M.

“I want to be at A&M,” Fisher said. “I plan on being at A&M. I ain’t going. I don’t want to be anywhere else. I love being right here. Is that clean enough?”

It might be now.