I've spent countless hours the past couple days on the phone with sources connected in some fashion to FSU or LSU. Some of these sources are extremely well-connected, and some not so much.
To be upfront, I don't have anything solid enough to actually "report" something or write a story that would go up on our front page (almost everything I've been told is off the record). However, I've heard enough that it's probably worthy enough to share with our subscribers.
First the LSU perspective
Everyone I've spoken to in the LSU camp is entirely convinced that Les Miles is gone whether the Tigers win or lose this Saturday. I'm not entirely sold that the administration would run him off if LSU defeats Texas A&M convincingly, but LSU insiders say otherwise and insist that it's already done. There is also extreme confidence that Miles' resignation, or however they are going to phrase it, will take place very quickly -- Probably by Monday, or Tuesday at the latest. Because this is being pushed through so quickly, the feeling is that a new coach is pretty much in the fold and will be announced 24-48 hours after Miles' dismissal.
The LSU insiders are also extremely confident that Jimbo Fisher will be the Tigers' next head coach. When I inquire for specifics or where the confidence is coming from the responses are rather anecdotal. There are definitely some highly placed boosters and some in the administration that strongly believe that Fisher will be back in Baton Rouge, but again, I'm not sure where that is coming from. I can only speculate that super agent Jimmy Sexton is dangling the carrot as he does with all his clients whether they are truly interested or not. Perhaps that and the notion that LSU is a better job than FSU (which is nonsense IMO) is enough to convince these insiders that Fisher is coming.
The FSU perspective
I've probably spoken to a half dozen well-connected sources inside the Florida State camp this week. And the feeling on Fisher's future is a polar opposite from what the LSU camp is saying. There is some concern because of Fisher's prior connections to LSU, but nobody has heard a thing that has raised a red flag indicating that he might be leaving FSU.
In addition to just "feelings" and "opinions," solid information has come my way that strongly backs up the notion that Fisher is not leaving Florida State anytime soon. I'm not at liberty to share all the details, but was told that Fisher and FSU president John Thrasher had a conversation this week on the topic and that the discussion went very well. From what we've gathered, there's strong confidence from the president's office that Fisher is staying put. I picked up another nugget of information I can't share but it supports that LSU will have to look elsewhere for its next head coach.
Wrapping up
It's obvious that the two camps on this issue are seeing this situation very differently. But in doing this a long time, I always go with the known commodity, and that is sources that have proven reliable for years. Frankly, there's no track record with LSU insiders so they could be full of bunk or not, and I wouldn't know either way. But I do trust certain people that are in a very good position to provide valuable insight on Fisher's future and they seem convinced that he is happy at FSU, and that the reports out of LSU are not accurate.
To put it this way, when the reports came out that Les Miles was going to be pushed out, and that Jimbo Fisher was going to be pursued by LSU, my confidence in him staying at FSU was somewhere in the 60% range. However, based on conversations with multiple credible sources that percentage is now probably in the 80-90% range.
To be upfront, I don't have anything solid enough to actually "report" something or write a story that would go up on our front page (almost everything I've been told is off the record). However, I've heard enough that it's probably worthy enough to share with our subscribers.
First the LSU perspective
Everyone I've spoken to in the LSU camp is entirely convinced that Les Miles is gone whether the Tigers win or lose this Saturday. I'm not entirely sold that the administration would run him off if LSU defeats Texas A&M convincingly, but LSU insiders say otherwise and insist that it's already done. There is also extreme confidence that Miles' resignation, or however they are going to phrase it, will take place very quickly -- Probably by Monday, or Tuesday at the latest. Because this is being pushed through so quickly, the feeling is that a new coach is pretty much in the fold and will be announced 24-48 hours after Miles' dismissal.
The LSU insiders are also extremely confident that Jimbo Fisher will be the Tigers' next head coach. When I inquire for specifics or where the confidence is coming from the responses are rather anecdotal. There are definitely some highly placed boosters and some in the administration that strongly believe that Fisher will be back in Baton Rouge, but again, I'm not sure where that is coming from. I can only speculate that super agent Jimmy Sexton is dangling the carrot as he does with all his clients whether they are truly interested or not. Perhaps that and the notion that LSU is a better job than FSU (which is nonsense IMO) is enough to convince these insiders that Fisher is coming.
The FSU perspective
I've probably spoken to a half dozen well-connected sources inside the Florida State camp this week. And the feeling on Fisher's future is a polar opposite from what the LSU camp is saying. There is some concern because of Fisher's prior connections to LSU, but nobody has heard a thing that has raised a red flag indicating that he might be leaving FSU.
In addition to just "feelings" and "opinions," solid information has come my way that strongly backs up the notion that Fisher is not leaving Florida State anytime soon. I'm not at liberty to share all the details, but was told that Fisher and FSU president John Thrasher had a conversation this week on the topic and that the discussion went very well. From what we've gathered, there's strong confidence from the president's office that Fisher is staying put. I picked up another nugget of information I can't share but it supports that LSU will have to look elsewhere for its next head coach.
Wrapping up
It's obvious that the two camps on this issue are seeing this situation very differently. But in doing this a long time, I always go with the known commodity, and that is sources that have proven reliable for years. Frankly, there's no track record with LSU insiders so they could be full of bunk or not, and I wouldn't know either way. But I do trust certain people that are in a very good position to provide valuable insight on Fisher's future and they seem convinced that he is happy at FSU, and that the reports out of LSU are not accurate.
To put it this way, when the reports came out that Les Miles was going to be pushed out, and that Jimbo Fisher was going to be pursued by LSU, my confidence in him staying at FSU was somewhere in the 60% range. However, based on conversations with multiple credible sources that percentage is now probably in the 80-90% range.
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