Mike Elko shares key to getting Texas A&M back on track
New Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko knows things have been tough for those around the Aggies program in recent years. When expectations are so high and fail to be met, it’s easy for players, especially to kind of check out.
And one of Elko’s first big tasks as head coach, he said, is to get the core of players still on the roster — one that isn’t short on talent, even with transfer attrition — recharged and reset. Elko explained more at his introductory press conference.
“I just think it’s kind of just re-plugging the kids in. I think when you look at what Elijah [Robinson] has done the last two weeks, I think you’ve already started to see that process started. It’s really hard when you have high expectations and you come up short,” Elko said.
Elko also clarified that he wasn’t casting any blame. It’s only natural for some detachment and sorrow when things have gone awry. People will start being held to account, though, as he and his staff start firing things up for the 2024 season.
But it starts with some cajoling and an understanding that the players are likely as frustrated and disappointed as everyone else.
“As hard as that is for the fans and as hard as it is for the people who support the program, it’s even harder for the kids who put in all of the work and the coaches who put in all of the work, so some of it is just kind of recharging and kind of providing a fresh perspective, some fresh leadership. Direction. Giving them something to kind of rekindle that fire and get them something to believe in moving forward and then just kind of holding them to that every step along the way,” Elko said.
Elko is ready for the pressure of his new job
Elko recognizes that his new gig comes with a boatload of pressure, but he isn’t shying away from it.
The new Aggies leader has seen first-hand what type of expectations surround the head coach of the Texas A&M football program. However, he decided to come back to College Station and look to lead the Aggies to the promise land, and he has a plan for how to do it.
“I think if you want to chase the highest prizes in this sport, it’s going to come with high expectations and high pressure,” Elko shared, via his introductory press conference. “There’s no program out there that’s capable of winning the whole thing that doesn’t expect to win the whole thing every year. So it’s the price you pay. You embrace who you are. I think I embrace my process as a head coach.
“That’s one of the things I told (Texas A&M AD) Ross [Bjork] in this process. I believe in who I am, I believe in my process for making decisions. We won’t always make the right one, but when we make the wrong one, we’re going to identify it. We’re going to evaluate it. We’re going to fix it, and we’re going to move forward. Not second guess what we’re doing, and believe in who we are. Know that we have what it takes to build a blue-print for the best program in the country.”