Jimbo Fisher

Coming off one of the biggest upsets in Texas A&M history, head coach Jimbo Fisher is open to making a significant change.

Per ESPN's Dave Wilson, Fisher said Monday that he would consider giving up play-calling duties following the Aggies' subpar offensive performance in their 17-14 loss against Appalachian State on Saturday.

"In time, I would," Fisher said. "Possibly could. You always evaluate those things."

Fisher also added that he "possibly could" consider making a change at quarterback after starter Haynes King went 13-of-20 for 97 yards on Saturday.

"We'll evaluate everything this week," he said. "We'll evaluate every position this week."

Texas A&M mustered only 186 yards against an Appalachian State team that surrendered 63 points to North Carolina in Week 1. After falling to 1-1, the Aggies rank 103rd in the nation in total offense (341.5 yards per game).

The team wasn't much better in 2021, finishing 71st (392.4 yards per game), 88th in passing (208.6 YPG) and 56th in scoring (29.3 PPG). Texas A&M went 8-4 last season, scoring 24 points or fewer in six games.

Fisher has spent nearly his entire coaching career as his team's primary play-caller. He won national titles as an offensive coordinator for LSU and as a head coach of Florida State.

Fisher was asked if his ego would stop him from relinquishing play-calling duties, and he responded: "No. I'm always [about] whatever it takes to win. Winning takes all effect over everything. I promise you that."

Prior to the start of this season, Fisher made some changes to his offensive staff. He moved Darrell Dickey from quarterbacks coach to tight ends coach, James Coley from tight ends to wide receivers and Dameyune Craig from wide receivers to quarterbacks. Dickey and Coley also act as co-offensive coordinators, but Fisher remains the one who calls the plays.

Texas A&M will look to bounce back when it returns to action Saturday against No. 13 Miami.

Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher and Alabama head coach Nick Saban appear to have put their differences behind them after an offseason feud that began with Saban accusing the Aggies of using NIL money to land some of the nation's top 2022 recruits.

Fisher told ESPN's Harry Lyles Jr. on Thursday:

"We saw each other at the SEC meetings [in Destin, Florida]. I have great respect for Nick, had a great friendship with Nick. I respect him very much, and we all learn from different circumstances in which we have, and I have no ill will, no anything to him.

"I have great respect when we coached and done a lot of great things together, [we're from the] same part of the country. You know what I'm saying? But we never talked that way. We never called and talked and did anything. We're just like we always were."

Fisher also noted Thursday that he and Saban have put their feud in the past, via Michael Cassagrande of AL.com:

"Listen, we're great. Two competitive guys that go at it. We all learn from things we do in our business. Two competitive guys on a topic that is very—everywhere, as they say. There's no rules in this thing, where it goes. Each state has different laws and everything.

"And like he said, I heard a statement he made, the arguments we had in the staff room and on the basketball court and all those things. But on the basketball court, we didn't have them. We were always on the same team. So we usually had them against other people. I have great respect for Nick. Unfortunately, our thing went public. Sometimes that happens in this world. Nothing is private anymore, is it?"

Back in May, Saban suggested Texas A&M was able to land the No. 1 recruiting class with NIL money:

"We were second in recruiting last year, A&M was first. A&M bought every player on their team. Made a deal for name, image and likeness. We didn't buy one player. I don't know if we're going to be able to sustain that in the future because more and more people are doing it."

Texas A&M landed eight 5-star recruits in its 2022 class, per 247Sports.

Fisher responded to Saban's comments by calling him a "narcissist" and accused him of not following NCAA rules in the past.

"Some people think they're God," Fisher said. "Go dig into how God did his deal. You may find out about a guy, a lot of things you don't want to know. We build him up to be the czar of football. Go dig into his past."

Saban's comments were given new life when a Texas A&M recruiter was recently captured on video appearing to tell recruits that they would be "getting a lot of money from the people behind these suites if y'all decide to come play here."

Fisher clarified the recruiter's comments on Thursday, saying:

“It's a … thing that we say with all recruits. The guys behind those things are the guys who pay for our program, what we do, the donations. That's what it was. He had been here one month.”

Texas A&M and Alabama will meet in College Station on October 8, but the feud between the two head coaches will not be used as motivation for the game, Fisher told ESPN.

"The game's about the players," he said. "Our emotion—we're out of it. I'm too old to and I'm not on that field myself."

Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher says that a video of an Aggies staffer allegedly talking with recruits about making money has been taken out of context.

While pointing toward the luxury suites at Kyle Field earlier this month, the staffer appeared to tell recruits that they would be "getting a lot of money from the people behind these suites if y'all decide to come play here."

Fisher clarified those comments at SEC Media Days in Atlanta on Thursday, via Creg Stephenson of AL.com:

“No, that's not what he said. Those guys pay down there very well, and what he meant was—he was a young guy, been there about a month—the guys behind those seats is what paid for your program. That was the donations and boosters and how he said it and how he spoke. Do we all have NIL? Yes, we do. But that's what he was meaning.

“It's a … thing that we say with all recruits. The guys behind those things are the guys who pay for our program, what we do, the donations. That's what it was. He had been here one month.”

The video caused a stir because the recruiter suggested that boosters would be giving players money to compete for the Aggies. In May, the NCAA banned boosters from being directly involved in recruiting.

The video came after Alabama head coach Nick Saban took a shot at Fisher and the Aggies in May, saying they were able to land the nation's No. 1 recruiting class with NIL money.

"We were second in recruiting last year, A&M was first. A&M bought every player on their team. Made a deal for name, image and likeness. We didn't buy one player. I don't know if we're going to be able to sustain that in the future because more and more people are doing it."

Texas A&M landed eight 5-star recruits in its 2022 class, including Walter Nolen, Shemar Stewart, Evan Stewart, Lebbeus Overton, Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy, Connor Weigman, Denver Harris and Chris Marshall, per 247Sports.

Fisher quickly responded, saying Saban's comments were false and accusing him of having skeletons in his closet for not following NCAA rules in the past.

Fisher added on Thursday that his feud with Saban has been put behind them, per Michael Casagrande of AL.com:

"Listen, we're great. Two competitive guys that go at it. We all learn from things we do in our business. Two competitive guys on a topic that is very—everywhere, as they say. There's no rules in this thing, where it goes. Each state has different laws and everything.

"And like he said, I heard a statement he made, the arguments we had in the staff room and on the basketball court and all those things. But on the basketball court, we didn't have them. We were always on the same team. So we usually had them against other people. I have great respect for Nick. Unfortunately, our thing went public. Sometimes that happens in this world. Nothing is private anymore, is it?"

Texas A&M and Alabama are slated to meet in College Station on October 8. While the two appear to have moved on from their spat this summer, it will undoubtedly be one of the best games to watch during the 2022 college football season.

Do not expect a war of words between Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher to continue into the regular season.

The Alabama coach addressed his offseason spat with Fisher on Tuesday at SEC media days in Atlanta, saying he has "no issues" with his Texas A&M counterpart.

"First of all, I have no issues or problems with Jimbo," Saban told reporters. "He's done a great job at A&M, and he did a great job for us. I always take criticisms or whatever in a positive way to self-assess me personally to feel like there is maybe something I can do better.

"Any comment that anyone makes, I always take into consideration. But there are no problems."

Saban and Fisher traded barbs in May when Saban made a comment about how the Aggies "bought every player on their team." Fisher responded forcefully the following day, saying A&M has broken no NCAA rules and calling Saban's character into question. The SEC publicly reprimanded both coaches for their comments.

Fisher and Saban hashed things out before the conference's spring meetings.

"It's over with," Fisher said last month. "We're done talking about it. We're moving on to try to fix the problems of what we have in college football. There are a lot more pressing needs than our arguments."

Texas A&M signed 2022's top recruiting class thanks in large part to a robust investment from boosters in name, image and likeness deals for players. Saban has bemoaned the new NIL rules for creating an even wider gulf between top programs and the rest of the country, though he acknowledged Alabama benefits from the new rules.

"Name, image and likeness is not an issue for us at Alabama,” Saban said Tuesday. "And our players, I think, did better than anybody in the country last year. ... The biggest concern is how does this impact and affect recruiting because on the recruiting trail right now there's a lot of people using this as inducements to go to their schools by making promises they may or may not be able to keep in terms of what players are doing."

The seven-time national champion has also expressed concern over the rise of megaconferences in college football. The SEC is set to add Oklahoma and Texas in 2025, and the Big Ten will bring in UCLA and USC a year prior.

"Megaconferences will create more of a caste system, maybe, in college football, and everyone has to decide if that's the direction we really want to go or not," Saban said on ESPN's Get Up.

Saban estimated Alabama players earned more than $3 million in NIL deals over the past year. It's likely that number will continue to rise as booster groups look to keep their teams competitive.