“I want to coach again. I’d die to coach in the SEC. I would love it. I would (expletive) love it,” Jon Gruden said.

“Are you kidding me? Hey, I’m one phone call away. I just gotta get in my truck; I could be there today,” Ed Orgeron said.

And then came Jimbo Fisher, quieter, more deliberate, but just as hungry. “I live to coach. I love to do what I did.”

So, out of these three, who’s the most likely to make a sideline comeback? For CBS Sports reporters, the answer was quick. Jimbo Fisher.

In a new episode on CBS Sports College Football on November 10, insider John Talty didn’t mince words. “I think Jimbo Fisher clearly really wants to get a job,” he said. “I was talking to him. He came to Birmingham to speak at a quarterback club a couple weeks ago and was very open about wanting to get back on a sideline. I think it’s in part why he’s on TV now to try to be around the game.” Jimbo Fisher’s name has already started surfacing for multiple openings, including an intriguing possibility at Auburn. “He’s got plenty of money. I think he’s going to try to do what he can to get back on the field next season,” he added. 

Jimbo Fisher has reportedly been preparing behind the scenes by studying film, drafting staff ideas, and even crafting recruiting blueprints. As NFL front office executive Mike Tannenbaum said, “He’s getting ready to get back in… He’s working his a– off to be ready and prepared.” Sitting in a Tallahassee diner, he once said, “I never got into coaching for money. Well, I’m not going to get out of it because I’ve got money.” He’s 60 now, an analyst for the ACC Network, still dissecting schemes while receiving a $77 million buyout from Texas A&M. 

Chris Hummer summed it up best. “He’s still getting paid heaps of money by Texas A&M,” he said. “He could take a discount, help a school out, help them build out their roster, rebuild quickly somewhere. It’s just about finding the right match… He has the resume, he has the want to, and he has the opportunity to do so if he chose to find the right match.” And the whispers around that right are getting loud in Tallahassee at his former school. Florida State’s once-revived empire under Mike Norvell has begun to wobble again as buyout talks surface. 

Mike Norvell is sitting on a scorching seat

Could Mike Norvell be the next HC to get dethroned? Florida State shocked Alabama to open the season, but since then, they’ve lost five of their last six, including an ugly one to Clemson. Now sitting at 4-5, the HC’s seat is scorching. His overall record stands at 37-32, and despite an ACC title in 2023 and his reminder that there’s a better future, the goodwill is fading fast.

But Mike Norvell has an expensive buyout. Firing him would cost the Seminoles roughly $59 million. That’s the fifth-largest buyout in college football, one that stretches through 2031. Even a post-season exit would still leave FSU paying him over $53 million. So, if Jimbo Fisher really wants to coach again, he might just have to invest in himself. One last resort could be that he could put personal funds into his next program’s infrastructure.

If Mike Norvell’s situation unravels, that match might be staring everyone in the face. And if that happens, FSU could see a heartwarming reunion. Because as Jimbo Fisher said of leaving the Seminoles for the Aggies, “It was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever, ever done.” Considering how he exited college football, this man doesn’t just want to coach again. He needs to. And in a sport built on redemption arcs, that might be his greatest play yet.