COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Despite a disappointing 5-7 season a year ago, Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork dismissed any talk Wednesday that coach Jimbo Fisher was on the hot seat entering the 2023 season.
"Build to last. That's my mantra," Bjork told ESPN. "There's no panic here. You can't be a blow-by-the-wind program in how you make decisions and expect to win championships in the SEC. Sure, last year was disappointing for all of us, but I look at where we're headed, and so does Jimbo."
The Aggies lost six straight games at one point last season -- their first losing campaign since 2009 -- struggled on offense and had 24 players enter the transfer portal following the 2022 season, including a handful of freshmen from the No. 1-ranked signing class in 2022.
One of the key moves Fisher made during the offseason was to bring in former Arkansas and Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino as Texas A&M's offensive coordinator. Fisher is relinquishing playcalling duties to Petrino. The Aggies ranked 101st nationally last season in scoring offense (22.8 points per game).
"It was what was right for the program, the right time and the right guy," Fisher said of his decision to hire Petrino. "It's something I had thought about a year or two before. I needed to be able to spend more time in other areas on our football team."
Fisher signed a 10-year guaranteed contract extension just before the 2021 season that will pay him $95 million through 2031. If Texas A&M were to fire Fisher following the 2023 season, he would be owed $77 million.
Bjork said Fisher's buyout was "public record," but that it wasn't something foremost on his mind as Fisher enters his sixth season in College Station. Fisher is 39-21 overall at Texas A&M. The Aggies just missed making the College Football Playoff in 2020 when they finished fifth in the final rankings after playing an all-SEC schedule during the COVID-shortened season.
"The expectations are what they are. It's the SEC," Bjork said. "We all have those expectations, but what I look at is what we're doing to build for the future. We're recruiting at a level we've never recruited at before. Our fans are stepping up and continuing to invest in the program.
"I'm excited about what comes next and not worrying about one bad season."
Texas A&M announced Wednesday that season tickets are sold out for the 2023 season with fans purchasing nearly 93,000 tickets, which is a record for Kyle Field since it was redeveloped in 2015. The season tickets sold included a record number of nearly 39,000 student passes.
Bjork said donations were also up across the board. The Aggies moved into their new state-of-the art indoor practice facility earlier this month, part of a $120 million campaign to upgrade and build new football facilities. Bjork said Texas A&M plans to renovate the locker room and add a player's lounge after this season.
"Clearly, our fans believe, and there's an energy and confidence with this team that, 'Hey, let's forget about last year and move ahead,'" Bjork said. "The rest of it, anything that might be talked about outside our building, we'll leave to everybody else."
Texas A&M opens the season at home on Sept. 2 against New Mexico and then travels to Miami in Week 2.