Jimbo Fisher-to-LSU reports now include FSU’s coach being offered the job

LSU offered its open head coaching job to Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher, according to reports from FootballScoop and Charles Hanagriff, an ESPN Radio host in Baton Rouge.

Fisher has been the head coach at Florida State since 2010, and he’s 76-17 leading the Seminoles, with a 2013 national championship in the bank. He was the Noles’ offensive coordinator for three years before that. And before that, he worked from 2000 through 2006 as LSU’s offensive coordinator, first under Nick Saban and then Les Miles.

Fisher’s success as a head coach at an elite program makes him an attractive candidate for just about any job, and it doesn’t hurt that at 51, he figures to have plenty of good years ahead of him before he retires from the business. He’s developed a reputation as a strong recruiter and quarterbacks coach, and more than anything, he’s won.

Here’s a good primer on the Fisher-to-LSU idea, including why he might leave a place where he’s got some of the best job security in the sport:

Change of scenery? Realizing most coaches are much better as change agents than maintainers? In the last five years, only Saban has won a national title after being at a school for more than five years. Urban Meyer has won them in years two and four at Florida and year three at Ohio State. Jimbo Fisher won his in year four at Florida State, Gene Chizik in year two at Auburn, and Miles won his in year three at LSU.

Jimbo Fisher will be going into his eighth year as FSU’s head coach in 2017. Is his message still getting through with the effectiveness it once did? Would it work better in Baton Rouge in the years 2017-2022

Might he want the challenge of facing Nick Saban? Maybe Fisher really loves Baton Rouge? Who knows?

LSU blog And The Valley Shook has some worries about Fisher – his decision not to pick up a spread offense at FSU, his players’ off-field behavior, and the point that LSU might have a hard time keeping well-regarded defensive coordinator Dave Aranda around. These Tigers fans aren’t sold:

So sure, Fisher might maintain better and more consistent quarterback play here, but if he can’t maintain the other positions on the field, and manage his staff, the result will be just a different flavor of the disappointments we had with Les Miles over the years.

And that’s not what LSU or its fans are looking for out of this hire.

Looking through a historical lens, they’re also skeptical Fisher would leave Tallahassee. His agent is reportedly trying to push his price up, which could either be a sign of serious interest or a push to get a raise in his current job.

LSU influencers are serious about Fisher. He’s on a list of coaches that have gotten backing to various extents, which also includes interim coach Ed Orgeron, Houston’s Tom Herman, and West Virginia’s Dana Holgorsen. Zooming out a little bit, no fewer than 24 names have come up on this job’s rumor tracker.

The position opened when LSU fired Les Miles in September. Orgeron has looked at turns like the favorite to replace him on a permanent basis, but he didn’t beat Alabama and has since lost again in a heartbreaker against Florida.