Fisher’s new contract will run through the 2018 season, the school announced Tuesday. The deal, which was agreed to during the season, is worth $21 million and is not expected to increase, ESPN’s Joe Schad reported.
The No. 1 Seminoles are 13-0 this season and will play No. 2 Auburn in the Vizio BCS National Championship Monday.
"We are extremely pleased with the direction of our program and believe that this new contract will assure that Coach Fisher is in place to lead the Seminoles for a long time to come," FSU athletic director Stan Wilcox said in a statement released by the school.
"Coach Fisher enjoys the full support of the leadership of the university and we look forward to the continued success of our football program on the field and in the classroom."
Though the new contract would appear to eliminate Fisher from contention for the head job at Texas, ESPN reports that it does not eliminate him from being a candidate for other job openings, including Texas. Texas Athletic Director Steve Patterson told reporters Monday that he hopes to hire a new coach to replace Mack Brown by Jan. 15.
Florida State, however, views the new deal as a strong two-way commitment that Fisher will not leave, ESPN reported.
Fisher currently makes $2.75 million a year, ESPN reported, and the new deal would make him one of the nation’s highest paid coaches. He has a 45-10 record at Florida State since replacing legendary coach Bobby Bowdon in 2010.
SUMLIN SHUNNING NFL
Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin is declining interview requests from NFL teams and planning to honor the contract extension he signed last month, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported.
Sumlin signed a six-year $30 million contract on Nov. 30. He also turned down a chance to interview for USC’s head coaching job.
An NFL source told ESPN that Sumlin would consider coaching select NFL teams, but another source told Mortensen, “That’s 100 percent not true, and it has no chance of happening. Zero.”
According to ESPN, Sumlin has passed on several inquiries from NFL teams and high-profile college programs and is committed to coaching at Texas A&M until the school finishes its $450 million renovation to Kyle Field. The new field is set to open in August 2015 and Sumlin would not consider NFL offers until 2016, sources told ESPN.
TEXAS SETS SIGHTS ON COACH
After getting crushed 30-7 by No. 10 Oregon in Mack Brown’s final game at Texas, the Longhorns now turn their attention to finding their next head coach.
New Texas athletic director Steve Patterson said before kickoff of the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio Monday night that he wants a successor by Jan. 15.
Patterson said coaches interested in the job have come forward but wouldn't discuss potential candidates.
"There's interest that's sincere, and there's interest that's 'Help me find a better contract,'" Patterson said.
Brown’s 16-year tenure ended with the worst postseason loss of Brown's run at Texas when the Longhorns lost to Oregon, 30-7, in the Alamo Bowl. The blowout was a final reminder of why Brown is resigning after 16 seasons at Texas, which he led to a national championship in 2005 but couldn't pull out of mediocrity and disappointment in recent years. He led the Longhorns off the field for the last time with his arm slung around his wife, flashing the "Hook 'em Horns" sign before disappearing into a tunnel to a chorus of cheers.
"The fan base needed to be pulled together because it was very divided in 1997. We pulled them together. We had a great run," Brown said.
Brown said he had no regrets about making this his exit.
"I think it's best for Texas. It's best for me, it's best for the players," he said. "We need to win more than eight games. Last year was nine. I really thought we had a chance to win all the games this year. It didn't work. It's my job to make that work. I told them tonight, the only regret I had is we didn't win enough games this year."
GRIFFEY WATCHES SON’S FIRST TD
Former Major League baseball star Ken Griffey Jr. was on the sideline as a photographer for ESPN when Arizona played Boston College in Tuesday’s Advocare V100 Bowl.
It was good timing as Griffey saw his son, Trey, catch his first career touchdown for the Wildcats.
Trey, a receiver, hauled in a 26-yard touchdown in the second quarter, and then added a 3-yard fourth-quarter score in Arizona’s 42-19 win.
Griffey Jr. had recently been sharing a photos of his son on Instagram and was at the game as a credentialed member of the media.
Contributors: Jeff Owens, The Associated Press
