Fisher: Petrino will make A&M better on offense

• Chris Low, ESPN Senior Citizen WriterJul 17, 2023, 06:26 PM ET

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  • College football reporter
  • Signed up with ESPN.com in 2007
  • Graduate of the University of Tennessee

NASHVILLE, Tenn.– Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher informed ESPN on Monday that fallout from his relinquishing playcalling duties to new offensive planner Bobby Petrino has been significantly overblown and the transition couldn’t have actually gone any smoother.Fisher, going into

his sixth season at Texas A&M after a 5-7 project a year earlier, said would not have actually made the hire if he didn’t believe it was best for the Aggies to land an offensive mind of Petrino’s caliber and free up the coach to be more associated with different elements of the program. Texas A&M dipped to 101st nationally in scoring offense last season(22.8 points per game )and had 24 or less points in nine of its 12 games.” Why would not you bring in somebody like Bobby who’s

done it at the level he has?” Fisher stated.” We get along too or better than anybody I have actually coached with. We interact well. We share concepts, not scared to challenge each other, anything to get where we want to be on offense. He’ll make us much better and understands that I’m still going to remain in the offensive space some, however going to be in the protective room some, too.” Fisher joked that any narrative that he and Petrino had actually currently been butting heads in the spring over control of the offense made for excellent drama for the media to discuss in the offseason.Editor’s Picks 2 Related “Yeah, we have actually had 3 wrestling matches, 2 boxing matches, “Fisher said, smiling.”I indicate, it’s been awesome.

He’s done a great task recruiting. When we played against each other [as head coaches], he would study our movie and I would study his film. There were not a great deal of men that did the things we did.” Fisher said he had actually already been considering giving up playcalling and”had fun with it for a few weeks “when he was at Florida State. But he said Petrino being the primary playcaller does not imply Fisher will be totally hands-off. He will still be involved and have a headset on for every game.”But every head coach does,”Fisher stated.” Let me ask you this: Does Nick [Saban] call the defense [

at Alabama] But he’s included. Any head coach is. That’s what a head coach does. In scenarios, they make choices. Are we going for it? Are we not going for it? Is this the time to conjecture? I indicate, every head coach does that. “Senior receiver Ainias Smith stated he understood things were altering when Fisher appeared for the first offensive meeting of the spring, presented Petrino and after that left of the room. “The energy [Petrino] brought that day was what you truly observed, simply his tenacity,”Smith said.”He wishes to win and do things right.

It’s sort of like your moms and dad that attempts to teach you to do it right and after that you reverse and play sports and your coach resembles the father figure and your dad actions away and lets the coach do his job. They have actually worked very well together on the field and off the field, and brought family into the image.”Smith, coming off a damaged leg a year earlier, said he is excited about the flexibility in Petrino’s offense and wishes to get some opportunities in the shotgun formation.”He’s going to use all his men, get them the ball and you’re visiting a lot of movement, “Smith said.Petrino is one of three former head coaches on Fisher’s staff along with protective planner DJ Durkin and offending line coach Steve Addazio.” You want guys

with fantastic concepts and their viewpoints,”Fisher said.”I imply, all your terrific coaches do. If you’re scared to employ somebody you think is great, then you

‘re not very good.”One of the things Fisher likes best about Petrino is his fixation with the sport.”He’s really focused. He’s really driven,”Fisher stated.”He loves football. He likes to coach football. He likes the X’s and O’s of football, and he likes the relationships with his players.” Inquired About Texas A&M’s offense under Petrino, protective lineman McKinnley Jackson stated,”I feel bad for every single defense … except for ours.””He has a great plan, terrific offensive mind and is going to do a lot for our defense because he’s going to put a lot of points on the board,”Jackson added.”We have actually got to complement them on defense and get a great deal of three-and-outs so he can run up the scoreboard.”We ain’t going to take our time scoring.”