Clark: LSU may come calling, but Fisher has a great gig already

The bad news for Florida State fans on Monday was that head coach Jimbo Fisher didn’t just flatly deny he’d be interested in the LSU job should Les Miles get fired.

The good news was he was still here. In Tallahassee. Wearing Florida State gear and talking about the upcoming game against the Florida Gators. He wasn’t wearing an LSU hat or eating grass at his Monday press conference. So that’s a positive, right?

Though, as a quick aside, how great would it be if/when Fisher decides to publicly comment on the LSU job he brings two hats to the podium with him — and he tells us if he’s staying or going by which one he puts on?

Here’s what Fisher did say on Monday about the (apparently) soon-to-be-vacant LSU job: “I have no comment on that. I have a policy. I don’t speak about jobs. It’s unfair to the players that are there, the players that are here, the coaches here. And there is no job opening. So I have no comment on that.

“That’s a policy I have and I’m not going to comment on any job in any way shape or form.”

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I think this is the perfect answer. It’s not what Florida State fans wanted to hear obviously, but it’s the only way to really respond, in my opinion.

Fisher might not have any real interest in the job (more on that in a moment), he might be planning to retire in Tallahassee. But what if LSU offers him something outrageous, like $10 million a year? He’s going to turn that down? And if he doesn’t does that make him a liar for initially saying he had no interest?

His policy is a smart one. Not only is it respectful of Les Miles (a man he worked for) but it’s just practical. How are you going to turn down a job offer when you don’t even know what the offer is? Or even if there is one?

So Fisher handled the question quite well on Monday, in my opinion.

But here’s the question we don’t know: Would he really leave Florida State for LSU?

It’s a tricky answer.

I’ve always thought if Fisher was going to leave FSU it would be go to back to Baton Rouge. He was the offensive coordinator there for seven years and it was always obvious, in conversations on and off the record, he had a special affinity for that place.

The people, the city, the school, the infrastructure, the resources, the recruiting base, the facilities, the passion — they all made a lasting impression on Fisher.

But here’s something else that no doubt makes an impression on Fisher: Miles is reportedly about to lose his job after seven 10-win seasons in 11 years, three division titles, two SEC championships, two national championship games and one national title. That’s the kind of resume most schools build statues for.

At LSU it gets you fired.

That sound like a fun place to coach to you? Passionate is one thing. What’s happening to Miles, whose current recruiting class is ranked No. 1 in the nation, borders on irrational.

Fisher has long maintained the reason the Pittsburgh Steelers are so consistently good is because the organization has made a point of not panicking, of not firing a coach after one or two mediocre seasons. And that kind of stability brings success.

So would he really be interested in going to a place that just fired a coach with a .775 winning percentage in 11 years? That was just ranked No. 2 in the country three weeks ago? That’s a pretty daunting job to walk into.

Meanwhile, he’s currently at Florida State. Where he’s gone 55-6 in his last 61 games. Where he’s won conference titles and a national championship. Where even a “down year” means nine wins (and counting). Where he gets to play Miami every year instead of Alabama.

And where, it should be noted, he’s gotten virtually everything he’s asked for since taking over as head coach in 2010. From more pay for his assistants, to state-of-the-art GPS systems, to a full-time nutritionist to a brand-new indoor practice facility, pretty much all of Fisher’s wishes have been granted.

He’s also got one of the youngest teams in the country this season (not a single senior started on offense on Saturday) and another heralded recruiting class on the way.

Fisher has Florida State set up to be really good for a really long time.

Is he willing to leave all this? What he’s spent the last eight years of his life building? For what amounts to a lateral job in a tougher division?

That would be surprising.

Granted, LSU apparently has enough money to offer Fisher the actual moon. So that would certainly be a factor. And Fisher definitely has a big enough ego to think he can win — and win big — anywhere.

But it would have to be an insane amount of money, in my opinion, to get him to even contemplate leaving Florida State right now — whether the suitor is LSU, Texas, USC or the Cowboys.

Because when it gets right down to it, when you look at the facilities, the current roster, the tradition, the incoming recruiting class, the incredible success of the last few years, the conference he plays in, the support of the fan base and the administration, you could make an argument Jimbo Fisher has the best job in America.

Tough to leave a gig like that.