Jimbo Fisher is not currently an active part of the college football scene but is still upset by the way the business operates. Fisher, in particular, has an issue with the current NIL procedures, which he believes is negatively impacting the sport.

Fisher said that the introduction of NIL has made college football “worse” on the Off Campus podcast, a program he semi-regularly co-hosts with Jacob Hester and EJ Manuel, the latter of whom he coached at Florida State. The former coach believes that the NIL era gives “big schools” an unfair advantage without an enforced salary cap.

“College football, man, we need a commissioner, revenue sharing [and] a salary cap,” Fisher said on the Off Campus podcast. “The tampering that other schools do with players is utterly ridiculous. The big schools are going and getting players constantly from other schools and it's being done illegally. That team shouldn't have an advantage financially to be able to take care of a guy that another school doesn't.”

Fisher was most recently the head coach of Texas A&M from 2018 to 2023 before being unceremoniously fired midseason despite having a 6-4 record at the time of his release. Before he accepted the position with the Aggies, the 58-year-old briefly gained recognition as one of the best head coaches in college football while at Florida State from 2010 to 2017.

Despite his firing, Fisher was put in a highly advantageous position with Texas A&M choosing to buy out the remainder of his $77 million contract. The buyout remains the highest in college football history. The school replaced Fisher with his former defensive coordinator, Mike Elko.

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Jimbo Fisher's struggles with NIL

Texas A&M Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher and defensive coordinator Mike Elko prior to the game against the Kent State Golden Flashes at Kyle Field.
© Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

Throughout his time as a college football head coach, Fisher did not exist in the NIL era for very long but saw the rule change impact his time at Texas A&M. As a credentialed football program in the SEC, Fisher was criticized for never making a conference championship game in his six years and struggles to adjust to the recently implemented NIL and transfer portal regulations.

The coach's complaints of a nonexistent salary cap likely stem from his days as an Aggie, where despite being an SEC school, Texas A&M does not have the funding to match larger organizations such as Alabama, Georgia, USC or Ohio State. Fisher was able to sign five-star quarterback recruit Conner Weigman before his final season, a move that failed to meet its lofty expectations.

Before moving on to Texas A&M, Fisher was given similar criticism at Florida State for failing to repeat his success after winning a national championship in 2013. Following the departure of stars Jameis Winston and Kelvin Benjamin, Fisher struggled to obtain another top-end recruit, which many believe led to the slow downfall of the program.