UTSA’s head football coach, Jeff Traylor, has interviewed for the head coach spot at Texas A&M University, which was recently vacated by the removal of their previous coach, Jimbo Fisher. Reports from Kirk Bohls of the Austin-American Statesman say Traylor and A&M engaged in a 90-minute interview, an hour longer than the original allotted time.
A&M fired Fisher after six seasons where he held a 45-25 record. This move comes in wake of A&M’s 7-4 overall record. A&M interim president, Gen. Mark Welsh, said that “[A&M is] not reaching [its] full potential. We are not in the championship conversation, and something was not quite right about our direction and the plan. We should be relevant on the national scene.”
Amid rumors of who will fill the vacant spot, Traylor’s name came up as one of the top candidates. He addressed the media about the rumors during a press conference on Monday, saying, “[rumors] come up every year except for my first year here, and I told [the players] it is a good thing. It means they are winning a lot of ball games for us, and as long as they keep winning ball games, there is always going to be speculation.” Traylor’s buyout would be $7 million if he moved on from UTSA before his contract is up.
Traylor has officially interviewed with A&M’s Athletic Director, Ross Bjork, as of Tuesday, Nov. 14. Traylor’s coaching success, Texas ties and excellent recruitment skills were among the reasons that caught A&M and Bjork’s eyes.
Traylor’s success with turning the Roadrunner football program around has awarded him two Conference USA coach of the year awards, a 37-13 overall record, back-to-back C-USA championships and three bowl appearances. Since UTSA transitioned to the American Athletic Conference for the 2023 season, he has boasted a 7-0 record in conference play, keeping hopes up for the program’s first AAC conference championship.
Traylor first rose to fame as a high school coach at Gilmer High School in Gilmer, Texas, where he posted an 87% win rate, which led to him earning four Texas High School Coach of the Year awards. His coaching resume also includes assistant coach stints at the University of Texas, Southern Methodist University and University of Arkansas.
Traylor and UTSA look to keep their perfect conference record with hopes of a win in New Orleans against No. 24 ranked Tulane on Friday. This would be Traylor’s first win against a ranked team as a head coach and would send UTSA to its first AAC conference finals, another accomplishment to add to Traylor’s already impeccable resume.
A&M is also considering Duke’s Head Football Coach, Mike Elko, for the position. Elko was a defensive coordinator under Fisher before earning a job with the Blue Devils.
