It was reported on Sunday morning that Texas A&M would fire Jimbo Fisher. Following his firing, Texas A&M will have a big coaching search. Here are five potential head coach candidates for Texas A&M.
Mike Elko is currently the head coach at Duke. He has posted a 15-7 record at the school, with nine wins last season and six currently this season. The Duke job was his first experience as a head coach and he has thrived quickly in Durham. Before that he had stops as an assistant at Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Wake Forest and Bowling Green among other colleges.
With his familiarity with the program and his immediate success at Duke. Elko will be considered by Texas A&M. He even has some familiarity with current players, as he was with Texas A&M as recently as 2021. For a school that will want to keep a lot of their talented recruits on campus and turnaround quickly, Elko would make the most sense to be the next head coach.
Traylor is the head coach of the UTSA Roadrunners. They are 7-3 this season and have had some good seasons over the last few years. They won 12 games in 2021 and 11 in 2022. He has a 37-13 record overall as their head coach. Leading up to the UTSA job, Traylor was an assistant for Arkansas, SMU and Texas.
At UTSA, Traylor has proven that he can improve a football team quickly, even when he doesn’t have elite players. His ties as a coach in Texas should help him recruit well at Texas A&M, which already does a good job of recruiting itself. Other big names may end up getting more of the headlines, but Traylor could be the better fit.
Lane Kiffin has done a great job at Ole Miss. They are in the middle of an 8-2 season. He won eight games last season and 10 games in 2021. He has a 31-15 record at the school. In his past, he has found success at Florida Atlantic and Tennessee. Although he was fired from the USC job, he is a much different coach. His time on Alabama’s staff really helped him as he prepared for the FAU and Ole Miss jobs following.
While he has a solid job in the SEC, Texas A&M has more money and resources. It seemed like he at least thought about leaving for Auburn last season. If losing a second game this season, eliminating Ole Miss from the playoff race, makes him feel like he has maxed out what he can do at Ole Miss, he could be swayed to be the next head coach of Texas A&M. His recruiting ties in the SEC and his ability to coach offense could help bring the Aggies to new heights.
Norvell has a great season at Florida State going on. The Seminoles are undefeated, which is impressive after a slow start at the school. He has a 28-16 record at Florida State overall. Before that, he posted a 38-16 record at Memphis. With successful stops at two different schools, Norvell can be regarded as one of the better coaches in the country.
Texas A&M went down the Florida State well last time to get Fisher, so it is plausible that Norvell could leave too. He has experience coaching around the country from his time as an assistant. If Texas A&M is willing to offer more than Florida State can, Norvell could leave and start fresh after a lot of his players end up going pro next season at Florida State.
Moore is currently the offensive coordinator at Michigan. He has filled in for Jim Harbaugh during his two separate suspensions this season and has an undefeated record. The offense is more of a pro-style, but he has done a lot for the Wolverines. Before being the offensive coordinator, he coached the offensive line and helped the team win the Joe Moore award as the nation’s top offensive line. He has also had stops at Central Michigan and Louisville.
While Texas A&M could be swinging for the fences for an already established coach, Moore is sure to get a head coaching job very soon. Although he has mostly coached in the midwest, Michigan recruits nationally and he did play for Oklahoma under Bob Stoops. Texas A&M will likely pay a lot of money for one of the best coaches in the sport, but Moore should be considered.
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