TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Jimbo Fisher is reportedly leaving Florida State University to succeed Kevin Sumlin as Texas A&M University's new head football coach.
The 52-year-old West Virginia native will not coach the Seminoles in their final regular-season game Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe.
Sumlin was fired Nov. 26 after six seasons at A&M.
Fisher, who led the Seminoles to the 2013 national championship and three Atlantic Coast Conference titles, was 83-23 in eight seasons at FSU, including a 14-2 record against rivals Miami and Florida.
Aggies athletic director Scott Woodward worked with Fisher at LSU, where Fisher served as offensive coordinator when the Tigers won a national title in 2003.
Fisher was 10-2 against SEC teams during his FSU tenure.
READ: Is Fisher on private plane to College Station?
Fisher agreed to a contract extension at FSU in December 2016, which increased his annual salary to about $5.7 million, making him the sixth-highest-paid coach among FBS teams. Fisher's departure means he would owe the university about $5 million.
Under Bobby Bowden
Fisher first came to Tallahassee in 2007, when he replaced embattled offensive coordinator Jeff Bowden. Fisher spent his first three seasons as offensive coordinator under longtime head coach Bobby Bowden before taking over the reins in 2010.
The honeymoon got off to a pleasant start for Seminoles fans eager to return to the glory days of the 1990s under Bowden. FSU won two national championships and was 109-13-1 in the course of the decade -- the most victories of any team during that span. The Seminoles never won less than 10 games in any given year.
Fisher takes the reins
After Bowden's teams lost six games in three of his final four seasons, Fisher's first season brought immediate success. The Seminoles won 10 games for the first time since 2003 and won the ACC Atlantic Division, losing to Virginia Tech in the conference title game.
The Seminoles capped off a nine-win performance in Fisher's sophomore season with an 18-14 win against Notre Dame in the Champs Sports Bowl.
FSU won the first of three consecutive ACC championships in 2012, setting the stage for the Seminoles' 2013 championship run.
National Champions again
Highly touted redshirt freshman Jameis Winston led the Seminoles to an undefeated season, culminating with a 34-31 against Auburn in the final BCS National Championship. Winston became the youngest player to win the Heisman Trophy that season, becoming the third FSU quarterback, along with Charlie Ward (1993) and Chris Weinke (2000), to take home the coveted award.
However, the Seminoles regressed each of the past four seasons since FSU won its third and most recent national championship.
Success, but no championship, in recent seasons
Fisher's team won 13 consecutive games during the 2014 season and earned a berth in the inaugural College Football Playoff before a 59-20 loss to Oregon in the semifinal at the Rose Bowl. It was Winston's last game with the Seminoles.
The Seminoles won their first six games of the 2015 season under Fisher, but they were just 4-3 in the second half of the season, including a 38-24 loss to Houston in the Peach Bowl.
Florida State got off to a great start in the opening game of the 2016 season against Mississippi, rallying from a 28-13 deficit to beat the Rebels 45-34. But the Seminoles lost arguably their best player in safety Derwin James the next weekend and endured a humiliating 63-20 loss at Louisville in the first game without James.
Two weeks later, North Carolina knocked off FSU in Tallahassee, ending its nation's-best 22-game home winning streak.
Florida State rebounded to win seven of its next eight games -- the only loss to eventual national champion Clemson. It was expected to serve as a springboard for 2017.
Still a shot to be bowl eligible
The Seminoles began the season ranked third in the country, but starting quarterback Deondre Francois was lost for the season in a 24-7 loss to then-No. 1 Alabama in the opening game. Then there was the nearly three-week layoff caused by Hurricane Irma.
At one point, the Seminoles were 3-6 and on the verge of missing a bowl game for the first time since 1981.
FSU hasn't had to conduct a coaching search in more than 40 years. Fisher was tabbed as Bowden's successor after his first season with the Seminoles.
The Seminoles haven't had a losing season since Bowden's first year in Tallahassee in 1976.
Fisher's name was twice previously linked to LSU. This time, however, the flirtation was mutual.