Texas A&M held a system-wide gathering on Wednesday, and Texas A&M-Commerce head coach Colby Carthel was honored for his Lions' Division II national championship victory in December. Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher was also there, because, well, of course you're going to buy the Corvette you just bought to the family reunion, aren't you?
After Carthel accepted a custom plaque for the 2017 title, A&M Chancellor John Sharp gifted Fisher a national championship plaque. Not for his 2013 title at Florida State -- though the Aggies have not been shy about taking credit for his success in Tallahassee -- but for a future national championship at Texas A&M, with the year inscribed as "20--".
Watch for yourself here.
Sharp cares deeply about Aggie football, and that pride has created a list of cringe-y moments for those in maroon. Most recently, for instance, boasting after Fisher's hiring that, "We don't do Plan B" in hiring people at Texas A&M, only to see Plan A defensive coordinator Dave Aranda stay at LSU and Plan A defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery remain with the Green Bay Packers. And now again Sharp puts the cart directly in front of Fisher's horse in a very public way.
Wednesday's gag was clearly presented as a joke, but the entire thing has a "We're laughing to take the edge off the fact that everyone knows I'm serious" vibe to it.
And, no, you don't guarantee a coach $75 million over 10 years to take you to the Belk Bowl. But you hardly ever see a school state its expectations as explicitly as this -- especially a school without a national championship since World War II.
All the tools to build a big-time winner are right there in College Station. The facilities, the resources, the proximity to elite talent, it's all there. No fan base in the country is hungrier for success than the Aggies. Hence: the $75 million, fully guaranteed contract.
Sharp and the rest of Aggieland clearly believe Jimbo is the missing puzzle piece. But it's going to create a very interesting dynamic if Jimbo doesn't fill in the blanks on the plaque he received on Wednesday.