Paul Finebaum believes Mike Elko meant viral comments as a dig at Jimbo Fisher

Following last week’s primetime win over LSU, Texas A&M coach Mike Elko made headlines during his postgame press conference. He spoke about the Aggies’ culture and appeared to shade predecessor Jimbo Fisher in the process – although some wondered if he was the intended target.

To SEC Network’s Paul Finebaum, there wasn’t much of a question. Elko was talking about Fisher when he made called Texas A&M a “real program” and how the person running the program is “not a politician … talking fast and BSing everybody.”

Finebaum also called it a landmark moment in Elko’s first season as Texas A&M head coach. The Aggies not only got a primetime win to take sole possession of first place in the SEC, but it also meant their head coach had “arrived.”

“The real moment I knew he had arrived is in the aftermath of the LSU game when he walked into the media room, and after being asked about culture, he completely eviscerated Jimbo Fisher,” Finebaum told Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman on Andy & Ari On3. “Now, I realize he walked it back – which, I’m sure some PR guys say it was a good thing always to go on the record and say you didn’t mean what you said. Of course he meant what he said. And he endeared himself to every person that follows A&M by trashing Jimbo Fisher.”

Elko later said he wasn’t trying to take a shot at Fisher, pointing out their time working together at Texas A&M. Elko was the Aggies’ defensive coordinator from 2018-21 under Fisher before taking the head coaching job at Duke from 2022-23.

Now, he has Texas A&M at No. 10 in the latest AP Top 25 and in first place as the only undefeated SEC team in conference play. The Aggies are now 7-1, and Finebaum said Mike Elko is living up to the billing – especially after some bold moves at quarterback – and living up to some high expectations.

“I heard some things preseason,” Finebaum said. “We had [Houston Chronicle reporter] Brent Zwerneman on before the season, and I said, ‘So, what’s the range, Brent?’ … He said somewhere between 8-4 and 10-2. And I actually said, ‘Are you out of your mind? 10-2? What?’ But he wasn’t just saying that to be a homer. He’s not.

“I started thinking about it at that point in time – I was out there for the Missouri game, and that was really the moment. Right before the game, Elko came on our show and said that he was going with Conner Weigman, and it was a really daring decision at that moment because [Marcel] Reed had played so well. And then, he did it again.”