Jimbo Fisher might be done with Nick Saban feud, but it's not done with him

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Bill Bender
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Jimbo Fisher went from being done with Nick Saban to being done talking about it. 

It took less than two weeks. The Texas A&M-Alabama coaching feud did not provide any more message-board material after Fisher's press conference at the SEC Meetings in Destin, Fla., on Wednesday. Fisher made it clear he was "moving on" from the back-and-forth with Saban. He used variations of that phrase five times in less than a minute at one point. 

"Things were said," Fisher said. "What he said. What we said. It moves on. We're moving on to the next thing." 

That last thing is going to follow Fisher around longer than he wants.

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Fisher was right to defend his program after Saban made the accusation that "Texas A&M bought every player" at a fundraiser in Birmingham, Ala., on May 18. Fisher responded with a press conference laced with heavy attacks on Saban the next day. He called the longtime Alabama coach a "narcissist" and encouraged reporters to "go ask all the people who work for him." 

That did not work. Three former Saban assistants – Georgia's Kirby Smart, Florida's Billy Napier and Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin – did not bite on that question at the SEC meetings. In fact, the not-so-hidden message from SEC commissioner Greg Sankey hinted that moving on wasn't a suggestion. 

"What we have to do is turn the page," Sankey said via OutKick on Sunday. "We have to think about what we see as the future, rather than the frustration that exists around the pace of change that's happening." 

Those weren't the only Saban defense mechanisms. Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne defended Saban and the school's compliance department, and ESPN's Paul Finebaum said Saban treated Fisher like a "Fly on your potato salad at the Memorial Day company picnic." 

On top of all that, Saban offered another mea culpa as only he could when he spoke with reporters Tuesday. 

"I didn't really say that anybody did anything wrong," Saban said before being interrupted by a reporter. 

"You said they bought their recruiting class …"

"I didn't say anybody did anything wrong, OK?" Saban said. "I've said everything I'm going to say about this. I guess the point, and I should've never mentioned any individual institutions and I said that before, but some kind of uniform Name, Image and Likeness standard that supports some kind of equitable, national competition is really, really important in college athletics and college football."

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Then Saban launched into the three problems he does have. Name Image and Likeness needs to be equitable. Players need protection against bad NIL deals. Boosters should not be allowed to use NIL as a recruiting tool. As for Fisher, Saban simply said, "I have no problem with Jimbo at all." 

Then Saban crossed his arms, and anybody who has watched Alabama since 2007 knows what that means. Saban is done with that conversation, and he will get what he wants. 

"This is not about Alabama," Saban said. "This is not about what's best for us. I just hope we can put some guard-rails on all this."

Eye-roll and scroll all you want. Saban will have a large voice in those discussions about those guard-rails. The 70-year-old coach isn't under the same kind of pressure to deliver a national championship. He's been to the CFP championship six times in eight seasons. He is 25-2 against his former assistants. 

Some saw Saban's attack on Fisher as a call-to-arms for Alabama to get with the times. Four-star quarterback Eli Holstein committed a week later. Chances are Saban will adjust and adapt, and he didn't change his tune from last week. It's basically "I said what I said." 

Fisher did. He went from not taking Saban's phone calls to putting the argument in the rear-view mirror. Given the heat emanating off that first press conference, this wasn't exactly fire. 

"We spoke in the beginning, and what he accused us of," Fisher said. "Both things we said. It's over with. We're done talking about it. We're moving on to the future and what goes on and try to fix the problems of what we have in college football. We have a lot more pressing needs than their argument. We're moving on. I have no problem." 

The problem here is Fisher was the first coach to take on Saban like that, something college football fans across the country revel in. Coaching feuds are great for generating interest, and this looked like the best thing since Bobby Bowden vs. Steve Spurrier. 

Now, that beef is being squashed per corporate policy. 

"What are the solutions? What is the structure that can be helpful to support young people competing in college sports?" Sankey asked rhetorically. "That's the conversation. Not what happens between two people. We have to elevate our dialogue."

That's good for the SEC and the greater good of the game, but Fisher might find that Texas A&M is more interested in ending a national championship drought that extends back to 1939. They haven't won in Tuscaloosa since Johnny Manziel ran circles around the Tide in Bryant-Denny Stadium on Nov. 11, 2012, and there is undoubtedly more pressure on the Aggies heading into that Oct. 8 matchup now.  There will be pressure for Fisher to be the SEC's alpha coach when Saban does retire, too. 

That is the long-term consequence of the last two weeks. Fisher can change the subject, which he did when he said the Aggies would love to play Texas when they join the SEC. That Texas feud is forever. 

The one with Alabama is in the present tense. Saban and Fisher can say it's over and done all they want, but two weeks isn't long enough.

You don't go from being done with somebody to done talking about it that fast. 

Besides, what do you think the first question will be when they meet in three months? 

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Bill Bender

Bill Bender is a national college football writer for The Sporting News.