Greg McElroy 'very optimistic' about Mike Elko at Texas A&M

Mike Elko made the jump back to College Station by taking the head coaching gig at Texas A&M. He is the man for the job for the Aggies too according to Greg McElroy.

McElroy spoke about the hire of Elko at Texas A&M during ‘Always College Football’ this week. Based on what he has gotten to know about him over the past few years, he is positive about how his tenure could play out with the Aggies.

“I’m very optimistic about it,” said McElroy. “I’ve called games with Mike Elko. Have been around him for quite a while, gotten to know him even dating back to his time when he was at A&M and at Notre Dame. So I’ve been around him for a while. I feel like I’ve got a good beat on who he is.

“He’s the 2022 ACC Coach of the Year,” McElroy continued. “Had an amazing 9-4 year (at Duke), had a great defense. Had a great defense when he was at Texas A&M there in 2020.”

With that resumé and previous experience with the program as defensive coordinator, Elko was a clear candidate to be the 25th head coach at Texas A&M. However, it’s his intangibles as a coach and ability to capitalize on his opportunity both at the school and in the state that really make McElroy think that it could pan out.

“He also, I think, understands the landscape of what he’s getting into. They didn’t give him a plaque with no date on it saying national championship or bust,” said McElroy. “The Aggies have deep pockets, they have really well-resourced NIL. They have a location where they’re 90 minutes from Houston, a few hours from Dallas. They should be able to attract a lot of really quality pieces.

“If you look at what Mike Elko has been in the past, he’s a great teacher, he’s a great defensive mind. I think he’s smart, I think he’s really savvy. I think he’s going to know how to play the game,” McElroy added. “At A&M, as much of it is about playing the game, making sure everybody’s all in, and making sure everybody’s buying in to what it is that you’re putting forth.”

Elko is 16-9 as a head coach after the past two seasons with the Blue Devils. That included a 14-5 start before the campaign took it’s toll on the team over the back half of this past season. It also featured the first ranking for Duke in the AP Poll in five years.

Texas A&M is step up in competition that Elko and the Aggies will have to be ready for. McElroy expects them to eventually be, though, considering what he thinks their new coach brings to the table.

“They just paid $77 million so that Jimbo Fisher won’t be their head coach. I think that they’re going to be patient with Mike Elko,” said McElroy. “He’s going to, I think, be the right guy at the right time. It’s just a matter of whether or not they’re going to win 10 games a year in a more challenging SEC than the SEC has ever been before with the entrance of Texas and the entrance of Oklahoma.

“I think Mike Elko is in a really good position,” McElroy continued. “I also think, at the same time, the expectation level is not what it was when Jimbo Fisher was there, which is a good thing for Texas A&M.”