“Dead” Valley

On October 25, as Texas A&M and LSU headed for their locker rooms at halftime, the folks in Baton Rouge were having themselves a regular Fais Do-Do.¹ ² Texas A&M’s quarterback, Marcel Reed, had thrown two crucial interceptions, giving LSU both the momentum and lead at the break. By the end of the night, however, the cajuns were nowhere to be found. Varsity’s Horns were being sawed off short.

A lot was made of the test the Aggies would face playing a night game in Death Valley. And rightfully so. Before Saturday night, Texas A&M had not won a road game in Baton Rouge since 1994.³ Under head coach Brian Kelly, LSU was 20-1 in night games at home.⁴ Anyone who has been to a night game at Death Valley can attest – it’s a tough place to play. So, why did the cajuns stop dancing?

October 9, 2021

To fully understand why the party ended early, a look into the schools’ recent histories. In December 2017, then-Texas A&M athletic director Scott Woodward hired Jimbo Fisher to be the Aggies’ next head football coach. The two have a good relationship, dating back to the early 2000s when they were both at LSU. In fact, but for that relationship, Fisher would not have accepted the job at Texas A&M.⁵

Fast forward to the night of October 9, 2021. An unranked Texas A&M, fresh off back-to-back losses against Arkansas and Mississippi State, has #1 Alabama on the ropes. Down seven points with just a few minutes to go in the game, the Aggies are looking for hope. They find it in Zach Calzada. Under pressure from the Tide’s tough defensive front, Calzada sends up a prayer to the back corner of the end zone. Ainias Smith makes the catch and the Aggies tie the game. Kyle Field drowns in chants of Calzada’s name as he limps off the field. A few moments later, with time expiring, Seth Small kicks a wobbly football through the uprights. Final: 41-38. The Aggie faithful storm the field relishing in a brief bright spot during what had been a dim year up to that point.

While Aggie fans celebrated, Tiger fans anguished. The LSU Tigers faced a stronger-than-usual Kentucky Wildcats team in Lexington. A little less than two years prior, the Tigers, led by Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow, were on top of the world, winning it all in historic fashion. On October 9, 2021, however, the Tigers lost decisively to Kentucky 42-21, falling to 3-3 on the season. The cajuns didn’t dance that night either. They called for a coaching change.⁶ That very night, LSU’s athletic director, Scott Woodward, spoke with head coach Ed Orgeron. After their conversation, Orgeron “knew that it was time.”⁷ In his words: “What time do you want me to leave and what door do you want me out of?”⁸

The Alabama game was the last notable bright spot in the Jimbo Fisher era at Texas A&M. Meanwhile, at LSU, there was hope for 2022 and beyond. Scott Woodward had a new coaching search to conduct and its result is telling.

Jimbo Fisher and Brian Kelly

Scott Woodward’s last coaching search had resulted in the hiring of Jimbo Fisher. A hire that, on October 9, 2021, looked genius. During the 2021 season, rumors abound that Fisher might take the LSU job.⁹ Given the relationship between Woodward and Fisher, these rumors were natural, even though Fisher ended up staying at Texas A&M. His recent extension with Texas A&M, and its large buyout, likely helped him decide to stay.¹⁰ With Fisher out of the picture, Woodward turned to the next best thing, Brian Kelly at Notre Dame.¹¹

Two similarities between Jimbo Fisher and Brian Kelly tell a story:

First, both coaches left first-rate football programs after being offered massive, lengthy, and largely-guaranteed contracts. Perhaps they saw something specific at Texas A&M and LSU that Florida State and Notre Dame didn’t have, although it’s difficult to imagine what. Florida State and Notre Dame both have winning histories, partly due to the efforts of Fisher and Kelly, as well as plenty of resources. It seems that the biggest discernible quality between the schools is Scott Woodward’s tendency to hand out massive contracts.

Second, Fisher and Kelly were never quite genuine. Upon arriving at their respective schools, both coaches sought to fit in with the surrounding culture. The Houston Chronicle felt that Coach Fisher presented a “country boy personality” at his opening press conference.¹² And, of course, who could forget about Coach Kelly’s fam-uh-lee.¹³ Every coach wants to fit in with the culture of their school – it helps them keep their job when things may not be going so well. But with Fisher and Kelly, the culture fit wasn’t genuine, it was forced. A truly deep dive into their tenures is a long, tedious, and draining exercise,¹⁴ ¹⁵ but pictures say a thousand words:

So, what’s the story? Disingenuous coaches leave long-time positions at prominent posts for high-paying, largely-guaranteed contracts at schools where they don’t quite fit. When it’s all over, the schools are worse off, not to mention much poorer after buying out massive contracts. But if that’s the whole story, then Texas A&M should’ve been reeling, hobbling together a team in the wake of a $77,000,000.00 buyout.¹⁶ How did they shut down an entire state?¹⁷

Mike Elko

“I keep saying this, it’s not about the past. We’ve got to stop worrying about the past, thinking about the past, talking about the past.”¹⁸

Those are Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko’s words following their win against LSU. According to Elko, a look-back at 2021 and LSU’s ensuing coaching search is meaningless. We’ve got to stop thinking about it, talking about it. It’s a fair sentiment, especially for Texas A&M fans. They haven’t seen a national championship since 1939.¹⁹ They haven’t won a conference title since 1998.²⁰ Simply put, Texas A&M’s football history is not confidence-inducing.²¹

Elko’s sentiment has obvious appeal, but it’s incomplete. If you forget the past without learning from it, you could find your way right back to a hard place. But Texas A&M hasn’t found its way back to that hard place: They’re currently one of the best teams in the country and nobody has found a way to beat them. That doesn’t happen by forgetfulness alone.

Before the season, Elko spoke in an interview about the responsibilities that come with taking on a new job.²² The interviewer asked Elko whether he felt there needed to be “knots” undone. Elko agreed. You have to figure out why it didn’t work before, what the problems were, what really happened. These are not the words of someone who forgets the past. They are the words of someone who learns from them and moves on. The cajuns stopped dancing because they faced a team who understands what it means to learn from the past. It’s up to LSU to do that now if they want to get the good folks of Louisiana back on their feet on Saturday nights. The future doesn’t look bright.²³

“Dead” Valley

October 9, 2021

Jimbo Fisher and Brian Kelly

Mike Elko

Notes

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