Did Jimbo Fisher coach with Nick Saban? Texas A&M head coach's professional career explored

Texas A&M Head Coach Jimbo Fisher is having a hard time after a woeful loss to the Miami Hurricanes, putting him on the hot seat for a program that had the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation in 2022.

Fisher has an illustrious past, including winning a BCS national championship as the coach of Florida State in 2013. Hence, these setbacks are not a new incident for the Texas A&M head coach.

Did Jimbo Fisher coach with Nick Saban?

Jimbo Fisher and Nick Saban worked together as the offensive coordinator and head coach of the LSU Tigers, respectively, from 2000-2004. They won a national championship together and have since gone on their own paths. Fisher had the opportunity to become head coach of the Tigers, but chose Florida State.

Since then, the pair have crossed paths a few times, with some meetings being more hostile than others. Fisher is one of the most prominent members of Nick Saban's coaching tree of coaches who learned their trade under the legendary coach.

Nick Saban and his various assistant coaches

The Nick Saban vs. Jimbo Fisher beef

The Nick Saban versus Jimbo Fisher beef began last year after the NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) ruling passed in 2021 and programs used the clout of their NIL collectives to entice recruits.

Saban named two programs that allegedly bought players, Jackson State where Deion Sanders was the coach and Texas A&M where Fisher was the coach and had just recruited the No. 1 class in the nation.

"We were second in recruiting last year," Saban said. "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. But 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."

The incident occurred after Texas A&M had earlier beaten favorites Alabama making for the first time one of Saban's assistants had ever beaten him.

After the Alabama coach's comments, Jimbo Fisher addressed an unscheduled press conference.

"It's despicable that a reputable head coach can come out and say this when he doesn't get his way or things don't go his way," Fisher said. "The narcissistic in him doesn't allow those things to happen. It's ridiculous, when he's not on top."

The two coaches were handed public reprimands by the SEC for breaking conference bylaws "related to Ethical Conduct for derogatory comments and public criticism of another institution’s athletics program."

Saban apologized later but the damage had already been done.

"I should’ve never really singled anyone out," Saban said. "That was a mistake. I really apologize for that part of it."

Nick Saban hasn't stopped taking subtle digs at Jimbo Fisher either with his veiled comments about NIL spending referencing Fisher's team.

“You think there’s disparity in college football right now? There’ll be a lot more in the future … I think the way Southern Cal, Texas and Texas A&M are spending money … it hasn’t hit yet. What are you willing to spend?"

The pair renews their rivalry when Alabama travels to College Station to face Fisher's Texas A&M on October 7.