“It was $300,000 less than any offer I ever had,” says Jimbo Fisher of his FSU offensive coordinator stint. Back in 2007, he had seven job opportunities in his back pocket. But he chose to go with the Seminoles. “Some of them said, just tell me what you want, I’ll give it to you.” To his glee and surprise, a head coach offer with heavy financial incentives passed his way, but Nick Saban’s agenda put an end to it.

Jimbo Fisher’s legend at Tallahassee is a popular affair. The leader who led FSU to three consecutive championships and a perfect 14-0 season, sprinkled with a national championship title. But his switch to the Florida State Seminoles wasn’t a smooth move, as many think. If the Nick Saban episode hadn’t happened, Tallahassee was this close to losing its legendary coach.

“UAB calls, they’re they’re cranking up football and they’re doing really good,” Fisher revealed in a conversation with Gramlich & Mac Lain on Wednesday. Blazers’ iconic win against Troy, 21-3, had peaked the optimism on the campus. But the then-head coach, Watson Brown, was leaving, and the Blazers needed a new leader.  “Back then, UAB they want me to be the head coach,” continued Fisher. The program didn’t have much financial muscle to hire Fischer. However, two friends of his, the guy Shoal Creek (the famous golf club in Birmingham) and Jimbo Lee (who owns the Buffalo Rock), pulled up and said, “We’ll make up the salary.” Their aim? “We want UAB to be good.”

So, with the financial creases settled, it prompted Jimbo Fisher to consider the opportunity. “I’m going to fly up and do an interview for that job.” But the Nick Saban episode was yet to hit. “So, Nick wants me to be the OC,” the legendary FSU coach added. “It’s like I say, when you don’t have a job offer, you can’t get one. And when you don’t want one, you get 20 of them. You know what I mean? That’s the way it always goes in life.”

He continued. “So I go on a visit. They set it up (at UAB) and go. I call and I said, ‘Nope, we’re not taking it.'” The reason? “See, UAB is under Alabama’s board of directors. Bryant Jr., Paul, is the head (the-then) of the board. He says, “No. Period. No, you ain’t interview him. You ain’t doing nothing. They want me to go to Alabama.”

The message was pretty clear. You are not taking our guy. “They told UAB, ‘You’re not even interviewing a guy.’ Naturally, the hosts had a jaw-dropping moment. But even Alabama and Saban’s efforts couldn’t retain Jimbo Fisher.

Jimbo Fisher and the FSU story

For Jimbo Fisher, Seminoles meant much more than just a coaching gig. “It was $300,000 less than any offer I ever had”. He was one of the best offensive coordinators in college football. But wanting to work with Bobby Bowden made him take the pay cut. “I’d never coached with him, right? And he was at the end of his career, and I loved him, and I wanted to help Florida State.

On Trials to Triumph, the FSU legend spilled more about his love for Bowden and FSU. He would come watch practice sessions and would stay at his house, back when he was at Samford (offensive coordinator). “Florida State, I mean, growing up being around him, I love Florida State, right? You know what I mean. I wanted to go back and help them get on top as a great opportunity.” Bowden was his mentor throughout his coaching career.

Jimbo Fisher won three consecutive ACC Championships from 2012 to 2014 and four ACC Atlantic Division titles. After developing 51 players for the NFL, an 83-23 record, and a .783 winning percentage, and other accolades, he left Tallahassee in 2017 for a 10-year $75 million contract with the Texas Aggies.