By Luke Brumm
When it was announced earlier this week that Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher, was being fired, a lot of people immediately said that Dan Lanning should be one of the top candidates for the position. Lanning then went on to say that he isn’t interested in the A&M job. This got me thinking and wondering, is the Texas A&M job better than the Oregon job?
I searched the internet to see all aspects of these programs and I’m going to figure out which job I think is better. We’re going to be looking at the teams’ success and history, NIL, facilities, alumni and fan support, conference, and recruiting.
Team Success & History
Oregon and Texas A&M have been in two pretty different situations recently, besides a couple of seasons. Since 2000, Oregon has had 16 ten-win seasons and are one win away from another. Meanwhile, Texas A&M only has one in that same timespan and will not reach that mark in 2023. The Ducks have 11 bowl wins since 2000 compared to eight from the Aggies.
Oregon has made one CFP while A&M has never made it. The Aggies have never won a National Championship, while A&M claims three but is only recognized by one. Despite that, overall and recent success both lean towards Oregon in my opinion.
More Sports News
NIL
Texas A&M and the oil money in and around College Station take the cake for NIL. Aggie players are the highest paid on average according to the Action Network. They average $20k more than the number two school, which is Michigan at $65K. Oregon didn’t even rank inside the top ten. They do have that Nike money and Phil Knight, but they don’t compare at this point in time. The A&M Alumni just gave Jimbo Fisher an unspeakable $78M to never coach again. That is wild.
https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1724135054492733556
Facilities
Both of these schools have state-of-the-art facilities and stadiums. Texas A&M does happen to have the most expensive facility, to nobody’s surprise. But, Phil Knight had a big part in raising money and making sure Oregon’s facility is one of the best in the country. They both have everything they need and more, so I’m going to call this one a toss-up.
https://twitter.com/thecheckdown/status/1598023917498552320
Fanbase & Alumni Support
Similar to facilities, both teams have great fans that are loyal to their team. They both have notable alumni who pour money into their respective programs. I think this one might also be a toss-up. The support is about the same, A&M has their oil-rich alumni and Oregon has Phil Knight and Nike. They both fill the stands every Saturday and have rocking home environments. Nobody wants to go play at either of those places. I’m giving another point to both of these programs.
https://twitter.com/AggieFootball/status/1725219683689972094
Conference & Recruiting
Texas A&M is obviously in the SEC and they have been since their move from the Big 12 in 2012. Oregon is making their jump next season as they are leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten. They will both be in the top two conferences, so neither has the edge in that department.
Texas A&M does have the advantage in recruiting as they are in the state of Texas. Oregon holds their own though and pulls many kids from California.
A couple years to note, 2018 was Jimbo’s first year and 2022 was Lanning’s. A&M also had the highest-rated class of all time that year. Even with the Aggies being located in Texas, they still haven’t had much of an advantage in recruiting, besides 2022. While the tide may be turning, I still have to give them the edge.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I think that Oregon is the better job overall. I think the money makes A&M attractive, but their culture of trying to buy wins hasn’t worked in the short term, and won’t work in the long run either. I think Lanning would be smart to stay at Oregon and see what he can do within the Big Ten. The Ducks are miles ahead of Texas A&M right now on the field, and I believe that gap will grow even more in the next couple of years.
