For the sake of all college football, Jimbo Fisher should shut up

Paying attention to Jimbo Fisher talking about what is wrong with college football is a joke. Doing so would be akin to giving credence to a Will Wade lecture about ethics in college basketball. If only there was a super-block button those who love college sports could use to buffer us from the two of college sports's biggest hypocrites.

This week, Fisher spoke out about the state of college football. Given he was mostly right, what he said was not the problem. The problem was that 'he' said it. Fisher decried "cheating" and tampering in college football and stated NIL has "made it worse."

Fisher knows much about cheating and tampering. In May of 2022, Nick Saban said publicly what many college football coaches knew; that Jimbo Fisher and Texas A&M were using NIL deals to buy players. Saban said the Aggies "bought every player" in their No. 1 ranked 2022 signing class. Fisher exploded with a non-denial denial that mostly attacked Nick Saban's character.

It is important to remember that using NIL funds to land recruits was a major NCAA violation before the current no-rules college football world evolved.

Shortly after the Fisher-Saban fracas, SEC Commissioner, Greg Sankey reprimanded both coaches. After the reprimand, Saban apologized for "singling out" Texas A&M. Saban's wordsmithing skills stood out in his response giving the Aggies and Jimbo Fisher no pass for rules-breaking.

In Fisher's latest comments, he calls for " ... revenue sharing. We need a salary cap, for all schools, and if you’re caught — and the other part of this, the tampering that other schools do with players, is utterly ridiculous." It is not like Texas A&M under Fisher was never involved in the shady but constant, business-as-usual world of tampering. Many followers of college football would agree that the Aggies lost players to tampering. Of course, they did, unhappy, bought players will often seek a new employer.

Jimbo Fisher Wrong College Football Messenger

Fisher is right that the current no-rules world of college football is bad on multiple levels. He is entitled to join the chorus of the many who demand change. The problem is Jimbo Fisher's credibility is so badly damaged that he is not just the wrong messenger. Jimbo Fisher is the worst messenger for solutions to major college football dilemmas.