Jimbo no longer in limbo
On Mondays around these parts we discuss Weekend Winners and Losers.
And we will get to that. But we have to flip the order on this Monday morning because I do not know if Jimbo Fisher is a winner or a loser this weekend.
Jimbo got fired from a plum gig. Getting fired sucks.
Bad. Been fired more than once, including from the local ESPN Radio show.
But, Jimbo's parachute was platinum, as in close to $78 million to be paid out over the next eight years. Heck, somewhere Bobby Bonilla is smiling and nodding and whispering, "You go Jimbo."
But the ripples here intrigue me.
Will Jimbo ever get another HC gig? Does he deserve one?
At what point should a grown (bleep) man switch from Jimbo to Jim? Or even James? Would Coach James Fisher had more success at Texas A&M? I say yes.
(Speaking of Coach James, man, Jimbo Franklin at Penn State heard the boo birds — LOUD — Saturday. Want to know the worst stat of the day? James Franklin at Penn State is 3-17 against top-10 opponents. Yikes.)
Anywell, as for the real Jimbo — and how many A&M boosters called him Dumbo, if you had to guess? — did he lose the weekend or win it?
Then there is this: If you are one of those folks bemoaning that NIL is the death of college sports as we know it — "Oh play for the love of the State U and the price of an education and yada-yada-yada" — well, good luck trying to explain how there is not enough money to pay the freight for the dudes risking their lives — literally — for our entertainment every Saturday.
Jimbo is getting right at $78 million. To go away.
His staff will get a huge amount of coin to go away too.
Plus, A&M will likely pay eight figures to buy out whomever they hire next, as well as all the assistants.
This is likely a $120 million firing.
Seriously.
And tell me again how a QB1 getting a car from a local dealership owned by a jock sniffer bastardizes the purity of college sports?
I'll hang up and listen.
Weekend winners
CJ Stroud. OK, dude is him. Truly. And the Texans, who were 11-38-1 over the last three seasons prior to drafting CJ No. 2 overall last spring, are 5-4 and Stroud looks like an MVP candidate.
Jayden Daniels. Yikes. That dude can ball. Who would you want your favorite NFL drafting, Caleb Williams, Michael Penix Jr. or Jayden Daniels? Thought so. All he did Saturday night in Red Stick was go for 600-plus yards of total offense.
Josh Dobbs. All dude does is make plays. At some point someone will give him the keys and he will be a regular playoff participant. Maybe we should have known how good Dobbs was when he kept Butch Jones employed in Knoxville for five seasons.
Georgia. Any questions? Lane Kiffin said they were playing with house money. Well, Ole Miss got stuffed into a trash can and rolled down the hall. Anyone want to bet against Kirby's crew at this moment? And I'll offer this, too: If Bama beats Georgia in the SEC title game, you are not going to convince me that Alabama and Georgia are not two of the best four teams in the country.
Cabbage Patch dolls. So the toy Hall of Fame announced its 2023 class Friday, and the Cabbage Patch kids were part of the newest collection of inductees. That said, holy bleep, how have we gone this long and baseball cards and Nerf have not been enshrined. Someone has some 'splainin' to do.
Weekend losers
Toy Hall of Fame voters. In addition to it taking entirely too long for baseball cards and Nerf to get included, did you know that Battleship and Connect 4 were part of the near-misses in this election cycle while the Fisher-Price "corn popper" push thing made it. Also in the Hall are the stick, the skateboard and believe it or not, the blanket.
"The Marvels." Yikes, and I saw this in the theater over the weekend. Not good. Vader, MCU has a real problem, no?
Arthur Smith. Dude pack your (bleep). This is enough because you are not him. The Falcons are 4-6 with three straight losses to the Bucs, Vikings and Cardinals.
The memories of the dynasty that was the Patriots. Belichick's on the hot seat. Mac Jones got pulled for some dude named Bailey Zappe. Seriously, Bailey Zappe sounds like a back-up singer from "Almost Famous" or someone from Bedford Falls who tries to help George in "It's a Wonderful Life."
Josh Heupel. Dude, you got some road issues, no?
This and that
— Here's Paschall's SEC wrap-up column.
— Did you know that the most expensive college football buyout before the Aggies parted ways with Jimbo was Auburn paying Gus Malzahn almost $22 million to go away? That is assuredly not War Frugal.
— Speaking of Jimbo, man, how do you feel if you are the Mississippi State staff and they just walked Jimbo to the curb after his team just whipped the stuffing out of the MSU Bulldogs.
— So Rory McIlroy has unkind things to say about Patrick Cantlay. It happens I suppose.
— I'd vote for Eli Drinkwitz SEC coach of the year. You?
— The weekend's Jay's Plays went a very blah-tastic 5-5. Yawn.
Today's questions
Weekend winners and losers. Go.
Did Jimbo win or lose?
AS for multiple choice Monday, who will be the next SEC coach to be fired?
— Beamer.
— Pittman.
— Napier.
— That fella at MSU.
— Other.
Discuss.
As for today, Nov. 13, let's review.
Whoopi Goldberg is 68 today.
Buck O'Neil would have been 112 today. Does he make the Rushmore of Buck?