Jimbo Fisher explains change of running backs coach on Texas A&M's offensive coaching staff
Texas A&M made some major changes to its offensive coaching staff this offseason, starting with the firing of offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey.
The moves weren’t limited to just the offensive coordinator position, as running backs coach Tommie Robinson was also replaced.
Head coach Jimbo Fisher explained why on Monday.
“Just things we thought we had to have it,” Fisher said. “Our new coaches, Bobby (Petrino), Marquel (Blackwell), [Bryant Gross-Armiento], those guys will do a great job on our staff. They’ve been productive, they’ve been successful and like I said I’ve known Marquel a long time.”
Blackwell arrives at Texas A&M after a journey across the southeast since he broke into the coaching ranks outside of his alma mater at USF.
He spent the last year coaching running backs at Ole Miss. Before that was a three-year stint working with running backs, quarterbacks and serving as co-offensive coordinator at Houston from 2019-21. He was at West Virginia coaching running backs in 2018, at Toledo coaching running backs from 2016-17 and he was at Florida as a quality control staffer in 2015.
Fisher is confident he’ll be just what the doctor ordered for the running back room at Texas A&M.
“I think he’s a really good coach,” Fisher said. “He gets the big picture, done a great job with backs and I think brings some things to the table as a coach, recruiter and different things.
“Not that other guys we had here don’t but sometimes you’ve got to make changes to get to where you’ve got to go.”
Offensive coaching staff gets a makeover
The big change for Texas A&M was the hiring of former Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino as the team’s new offensive coordinator.
Petrino has had several excellent offenses during his time as an FBS coach, and Fisher will be looking to tap into that knowledge and expertise following a very tough season offensively.
“That was a guy we wanted to hire, a guy I’ve known. I’ve known him a long time,” Fisher said. “We have great respect for each other. When we talked and after meeting with him? We thought it would be a very good fit with what we’re trying to do and the things that we believe in with what goes on.”
Petrino is bringing nearly 40 years worth of college experience with him to Texas A&M. That resume includes several stops in Division I and the NFL as a head coach, offensive coordinator, or quarterbacks coach.
The SEC got their first run with Petrino back in 2002 as the offensive coordinator at Auburn. After one of his three stints at Louisville and then the NFL, he then became the head coach at Arkansas. Then, after his career in Fayetteville unceremoniously ended, he eventually bounced back to the state of Kentucky. He spent a year with Western Kentucky and then four more years with the Cardinals before landing with Missouri State the last two seasons where Fisher found him this offseason.