Texas A&M coaching rumors: Potential candidate Jeff Traylor's professional career explored amid a reported interview with Aggies AD Ross Bjork

According to a report from Kirk Bohls of the Austin-American Statesman, UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor engaged in a 90-minute interview with Aggies athletic director Ross Bjork. In the wake of Texas A&M firing coach Jimbo Fisher, the team is making swift moves in their search for a head coach.

Bjork’s meeting with Traylor lasted almost an hour longer than scheduled. Looks like the Aggies are undergoing a thorough exploration after the end of Fisher’s reign.

Jeff Traylor’s coaching history

Jeff Traylor has a 37-13 record over four seasons at the UTSA Roadrunners (7-3, 6-0 ACC) and brings a track record of success. He has steered the Roadrunners to three consecutive bowl appearances and secured back-to-back C-USA conference championships.

The 55-year-old earned consecutive C-USA Coach of the Year honors (2021, 2022) for his accomplishments. The head coach journey for Traylor began with Gilmer High School and he was named Texas High School Coach of the Year four times, boasting an over 87% win rate.

His coaching resume also includes stints as an assistant coach at Texas, SMU, and Arkansas.

Meanwhile, the coaching carousel continues to turn for the Texas A&M Aggies (6-4, 4-3 SEC), with other candidates, such as Duke’s Mike Elko also being considered for the job.

Why was Jimbo Fisher fired?

After six long years and not much success, Texas A&M made the bold move to part ways with coach Jimbo Fisher. After relieving Fisher of duties, the Aggies AD Ross Bjork released a statement.

“After very careful analysis of all the components related to Texas A&M football, I recommended to President [Mark] Welsh and then Chancellor [John] Sharp that a change in the leadership of the program was necessary in order for Aggie football to reach our full potential and they accepted my decision."

"We appreciate Coach Fisher's time here at Texas A&M and we wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

Later, in a press conference, Bjork stated the reason for the firing.

“The assessment that I delivered was that we are not reaching our full potential. We are not in the championship conversation and something was not quite right about our direction and the plan.”

Fisher’s tenure, yielding a 45-25 record, concluded abruptly. He signed a lucrative 10-year, $95 million guaranteed contract in 2021.

The decision comes at a staggering cost to the school because the reported buyout for Fisher is around $76 million, the biggest in college football history.