re: Jimbo Fisher Staff Thread

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Looks like Schmidt is officially on board

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Liucci

This is one of my favorite hires of all of them. He's coming to A&M from Oklahoma after close to two decades and it's very clear to me that he still has a true passion for the job. You're bringing on a guy who has not only trained a national championship team, but also two playoff squads (including standing on the sidelines of the Rose Bowl just a week ago) and five teams that have either played in the title game or reached the playoff. Like Jimbo Fisher and the guys from his FSU staff, he's a proven winner who knows exactly what it takes to field a team capable of winning major conference championships and competing for national titles and what it takes to push it over the top.

Schmidt's reputation speaks for itself, as players from Leon O'Neal to Johnny Manziel to Seth McKinney know EXACTLY who the Ags' new Strength & Conditioning ace is. When I talked to Johnny following the national title game a couple of nights ago (yes, TexAgs 'stockers,' that was Schmidt at Wings n' More), the Heisman Trophy winner couldn't believe that Jimbo and the Aggies were able to pull the longtime Sooner out of Norman and expressed his excitement to get down to College Station and work out with 'a legend.' He told me about Brandon Williams transferring from OU several years ago and absolutely breezing through A&M's off-season because of where he was coming from. Since Monday, I've had several other similar conversations with players who worked under Schmidt in Norman and former Aggie standouts who can't wait to see this guy put the current team to work. And work they will. Like they never have before. Beginning next week.

So why A&M for Jerry Schmidt after such a long, successful run in Norman? Part of it has to do with the simple fact that he felt it was finally time to make a move. I'm sure Bob Stoops - who brought him to Norman from Florida way back when - retiring last spring has something to do with it, as does the fact that he has family (his wife's side) in the Brazos Valley. However, the fact is that Schmidt believes that the pieces are in place for Texas A&M to win a national championship and (finally) become one of the premier programs in all of college football. Jerry was very familiar with Aggieland and, like a couple of newly-hired A&M assistants have already told me, he always felt that this place was special and could/should be great. Long story short, the Ags hiring Jimbo Fisher really got Schmidt's attention and, once they contacted him and showed interest, he quickly realized it was time to get a fresh start and attempt to earn a ring (or rings) at another locale.

What I love about the staff Fisher is putting together is the fact that they're attracting guys who know EXACTLY what it takes to build a championship roster (and train them up once they're on campus) and consistently compete for and win titles. From Jimbo to Tim Brewster to Dameyune Craig to Jay Graham to Schmidt, all of these guys have reached the mountaintop and come close on numerous other occasions. The plan is to make that climb again, which is why bringing in a like-minded, experienced winner like Jerry Schmidt to oversee the whole thing on a day-to-day basis is an absolute game-changer.

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