Big Easy Believer
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Jimbo Fisher To LSU Won’t Happen – But Not Why You Think

By Scotty Nola

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With LSU head coach Les Miles expected to get the ax following the end of the 2015 football season, there has been a groundswell of support among Tigers faithful to lobby for the pursuit of Florida State head coach and former LSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher — but could that pursuit be in jeopardy before it even gets started?

As you’re likely aware if you’re reading this, the Big Easy Believer was among the first to openly call for a coaching change at LSU. This was followed by one of the first attempts to look at possible head coaching candidates who could lead the Tigers into their next era.

Since those articles were posted, rumors reported to come directly from the inner circle of LSU AD Joe Alleva have confirmed that Les Miles was fighting for his coaching future.

With the Tigers now coming off a third straight ugly loss a coaching change is looking more and more inevitable. This makes any report of a name tied to a head coaching search compelling news.

Some of the same sources that indicated Miles is on the hot seat, seem to be indicating that Florida State Head Coach Jimbo Fisher is the top candidate to replace him.

On the surface this makes perfect sense. Jimbo Fisher is a former LSU assistant under Saban and he reportedly recalls his time in Baton Rouge fondly and still has friends in the area.

Jan 4, 2004; New Orleans, LA, USA; LSU Tigers offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher answers questions for the media after the game against the Oklahoma Sooners in the Allstate Sugar Bowl Game at the Louisiana Superdome. The Tigers defeated the Sooners, 21-14. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

He is a coach with a background in offense, specifically in grooming quarterbacks for the NFL, which has been Miles main failing during his time at LSU.

Fisher has won a National Championship and coached a player on a successful Heisman campaign. If anything when it comes to on field success the only issue with Fisher is that he has had so much it may be difficult to pry him away from his current employer.

Now, the assumption would be that Fisher’s current contract with the Seminoles would prevent him from leaving Tallahassee for Baton Rouge to begin with.

Fisher, who signed a huge extension with the university following the 2013 National Championship season, earned $5 million this season, and will receive a $100,000 a year bump through the 2022 season.

Fisher, who earned $3.6 million in 2014 according to the USA Today coaching salary database, joins Alabama’s Nick Saban, Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops, Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin, Texas’ Charlie Strong and Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh in college football’s $5 million club.

Of course, the most important figure in any coaching contract is the buyout. And there is a significant one here.

Fisher would owe a cool $5 million should he leave before Dec. 31, 2016, a more manageable $3 million if he left between Jan. 1, 2017 and Dec. 31, 2018, and a minuscule $1 million thereafter.

But as we all know: money won’t be an issue for the LSU Board of Supervisors, who are well aware that the program’s biggest boosters and supporters expect to see a top-notch product on the field, and a top-level coach out there guiding it.

So money is not an issue at all.

But here’s what is the issue.

Fisher also has an off the field problem, one magnified greatly by two seemingly unrelated events from outside the world of sports that happened the same weekend as the LSU – Ole Miss game.

Jimbo Fisher’s career is tied forever to that of Jameis Winston. It was Winston who won the Heisman under Fisher’s tutelage. Winston was the starting QB on Fisher’s National Championship team. And whether they are right or not, too many people believe that Jameis Winston’s time in Tallahassee represents everything that is wrong with college athletics.

Oct 30, 2014; Louisville, KY, USA; Florida State Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston (5) and head coach Jimbo Fisher walk off the field after defeating the Louisville Cardinals 42-31 at Papa John

The details of the night that Jameis Winston and  female student Erica Kinsman crossed paths are murky at best. What can be known about that night has been dissected repeatedly in numerous reports, there is no point attempting to rehash that at this point. There is new news in this case of a sort though, and it is news that can affect Jimbo Fisher’s viability as a head coaching candidate.

CNN purchased the broadcast rights to the award winning documentary ‘The Hunting Ground’ and aired the movie for the first time Sunday Night.

The network is trying to recreate the ratings magic they had with last years documentary ‘Blackfish’ by broadcasting the movie and tailoring news content on the same subject matter around it.

‘Blackfish’ was about the mistreatment of Orca Whales at Seaworld and the danger they presented to human workers at the parks. It was a big hit for CNN.

‘The Hunting Ground’ is about campus rape and a substantial portion of it is devoted to the Jameis Winston scandal. This coverage includes interviews with Erica Kingsman and harsh criticism of FSU administrators and the local police for initially failing to investigate the case.

The documentary does not discuss Jimbo Fisher, although he is shown on screen several times with Winston.

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A website connected with the documentary does specifically mention that Fisher violated both federal statutes and FSU guidelines by failing to properly report the rape investigation.

It is that last part that hurts Fisher the most. His only crime, if you can call it that, is the same one Joe Paterno committed at Penn State: failing to properly report events he was not a witness to or directly involved in.

That ended badly for Paterno, of course, as the allegations around his program eventually resulted in criminal charges and a conviction. Very different from the Jameis Winston situation.

There is another recent event that hurts Jimbo Fisher as a candidate for a high profile job in Louisiana. This past Saturday Louisiana elected a new governor, and the new Governor is not early favorite David Vitter.

Vitter had everything going for him in this race. He is a sitting Senator. He is very well known. He also ran as a Republican in a state that has swayed very heavily towards that party in recent years.

Pundits point to several reasons Vitter lost the election, including his association with unpopular Governor Bobby Jindal and with Washington politics.

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Another thing that hurt Vitter tremendously was a series of TV ads connecting him to a Washington DC prostitution scandal.

Vitter was attacked for the scandal in both the Republican primary and the general election. Vitter’s name was indelibly associated with mistreatment of women and the voters thoroughly rebuked him on election day.

The whole point is what Vitter did made him so unpopular he lost an election that he was winning. With CNN working to “burn” the reputation of anyone associated with Florida State and Jameis Winston, that is a huge liability for Fisher.

So, now as you can plainly see: this is a very real problem for Jimbo Fisher supporters inside the Tiger Athletic Department should they try to lure him from FSU.

The stigma of being associated or affiliated with sexual misconduct — whether it was proven or not — may be enough to keep the LSU Board of Supervisors from making a serious and concerted effort to lure him away from Tomahawk Nation.

Oct 24, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Florida State Seminoles head coach Jimbo Fisher is shown on the sideline in the second quarter of their game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

There is no suggestion Fisher had any knowledge of Jameis Winston’s activities the night in question and no proof those activities violated the law. Fisher’s failure to report when required and subsequent decision to stand by Winston when the reports were made public are a problem.

If CNN has another ratings hit on their hands and broadcasts ‘The Hunting Ground’ repeatedly the association of Fisher and his former prodigy Winston with abuse will become accepted by more and more people with each airing of this documentary.

The popularity of ‘Blackfish’ was damaging to Seaworld. Sales dropped by as much as 84% in the wake of CNN broadcasting this anti Seaworld expose.

LSU ticket sales will not drop 84% if the team lures Jimbo Fisher away from Florida State. That will not happen.

Anything that damages Fisher could impact the athletic department and it’s ability to raise funds though, an ability that is heavily reliant on positive public relations.

There have been calls to fire Les Miles before. After every loss in fact, both in games and on the recruiting trail. That is nothing new.

The thing that changed this time is the public chatter was accompanied by pictures of empty seats in Tiger Stadium during football games.

Oct 17, 2015; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Tigers cheerleaders perform outside the stadium prior to kickoff against the Florida Gators at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports

To be succesful the head coach at LSU has to do one thing and one thing only: sell 102,321 tickets to every home game. Fill the stadium and in the business of big time college athletics all else will be forgiven.

Joe Alleva has a major stadium expansion to pay for. The new construction cost over $100 million, an amount raised by bonds that have to be paid back from ticket sales and donations.

The Athletic Directors inability to risk losing ticket sales is the real justification for ending Les Miles career as the Tigers head coach.

The recent spectacle of a sitting Senator and candidate for Governor seeing his career implode over the repeated allegation that he mistreats women, has made Jimbo Fisher to LSU a “no go”.

LSU will look in many places for Les Miles’ replacement, that much is certain. It is equally certain that in the end Tallahassee will not be one of them.

With CNN working overtime to make him radioactive, Jimbo Fisher has too much baggage and brings too many bad memories with him.

He will not be the next head coach at LSU……

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