LSU has found their next head coach in Brian Kelly, but the Bayou Bengals were reportedly so desperate to land a big-name head coach, they were willing to offer the world to Jimbo Fisher.
According to Action Network's Brett McMurphy, before the Tigers snagged Kelly away from Notre Dame, the Tigers were ready to offer Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher a massive contract that would've easily made him the highest-paid coach in the college ranks.
Here's the transcript of McMurphy's report:
'How bad did LSU want Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher? In late November, LSU was prepared to offer Fisher an 8-year, $125 million deal - $13 million/year - to come to LSU, sources told @ActionNetworkHQ. Those numbers earlier reported by @billyliucci."
The report comes after Fisher said last month that he is not leaving the Aggies for another job. He even took it a step further by saying he would be the “dumbest human being” on the planet for leaving his current job. Fisher cited Texas A&M's highly touted 2022 recruiting class and believes in the investment from everyone at the university. Not to mention LSU's athletic director Scott Woodward, the man who offered Fisher the massive contract, originally hired Fisher when he was the AD at A&M.
If the reports are true and Fisher's commitment to the Aggies is sincere, it's really a testament to the former Tiger's assistant belief in Texas A&M program to turn down a boatload of money considering the landscape we are in where college coaches are leaving historic and successfull programs.
LSU found a slightly less expensive coach in Kelly, who inked a 10-year $95 million contract. Kelly definitively said he was not leaving Notre Dame unless a "fairy godmother" dropped a "$250 million" contract in his lap, which would make him reconsider. I don't know if Kelly had a four-leaf clover, but he got his wish as LSU lured him away from South Bend. The 60-year-old head coach said he honestly thought he would never leave the ivory towers of Notre Dame, but after a conversation with God, he decided that heading to Baton Rouge was the right choice.
"I think that conversation was, God, I hadn't had that before," Kelly said. "I had no knowledge of what LSU was about or what that looked like. I was being honest and you know me, I'm going to tell you the way I think and at that time, I had no thought that I would ever be leaving Notre Dame."
Follow Jasper Jones on Twitter: @jonesj2342
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