BATON ROUGE -- Offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher is staying at LSU in that capacity, LSU Athletic Director Skip Bertman and new football coach Les Miles confirmed on Tuesday night.
"I talked to Jimbo today and he wanted to let the other people know that he wouldn't be taking their job," Bertman said.
Bertman said Fisher was close to saying he would stay at LSU over the past several days, but Miami Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga kept offering him more money. Miami Dolphins head coach Nick Saban, who left LSU after the Capital One Bowl on Jan. 1, offered Fisher an offensive assistant's job on his staff but not coordinator. Saban said he wants his coordinator to have NFL experience.
Fisher, who has coached only on the college level, also was entertaining an offer to be North Carolina State's offensive coordinator. He did not return calls on Tuesday night.
Miles met twice with Fisher in the days following the announcement of Miles' hiring on Jan. 3 and offered Fisher the coordinator job and said it will continue to include play calling.
"It didn't take me long to figure out how very talented Jimbo Fisher is," Miles said over the weekend.
Miles did not want to comment on his LSU staff until it is complete. He plans to release that later in the week. He has also confirmed, though, that offensive line coach Stacy Searels will remain on the staff.
Fisher is already among the highest paid assistant coaches in the Southeastern Conference and nation with a total package in the $250,000 range. He is also one of the few assistants in the nation with a multiyear contract. He has two years left on his current LSU contract.
LSU finished the 2004 season No. 1 in the SEC in rushing offense with 193.8 yards a game.
In 2003 when LSU won the BCS national championship, the Tigers finished No. 2 in the SEC in scoring offense (33.9 points a game), rushing offense (185.7 yards a game) and in passing efficiency as well as No. 3 in total offense (418 yards a game).
In 2001, LSU's offense set school records for total offense (5,418 yards), passing yards (3,578), passing yards per game (298.5) and total offense per game (451.5).
Fisher, who came to LSU from Cincinnati after the 1999 season as one of Saban's first hires, put up those numbers with several starting quarterbacks -- Josh Booty in 2000, Rohan Davey in 2001, Matt Mauck and Marcus Randall in 2002, Mauck in 2003 and Randall and JaMarcus Russell in 2004.
A native of Clarksburg, W.Va., Fisher was the quarterbacks coach at Auburn from 1993 through 1998 before becoming Cincinnati's offensive coordinator in 1999.
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