Rece Davis 'curious' about Mike Elko's decision to take Texas A&M job

There’s plenty of excitement around the hire of Mike Elko at Texas A&M. Even so, Rece Davis isn’t certain about the fit considering all the changes that are about to come to the situation in College Station.

Davis explained his point on the ‘College GameDay Podcast’ on Monday. He started with the obvious fact that the Aggies haven’t been used to winning anything of substance in quite some time.

“There are not only the generational challenges of the fact that they haven’t won a national championship since 1939, haven’t won a conference championship this century – 1998 when they upset Kansas State in the Big 12 is their last one. They haven’t played a championship in the SEC and have barely threatened,” noted Davis.

However, his overall point stems from the fact that the landscape around them is about to become even more challenging. It starts with two former rivals in Texas and Oklahoma coming to the SEC next fall. Add in the removal of divisions in the conference and Davis worries that Texas A&M might be in for a rude awakening.

“At this moment in time, the A&M job is even harder than it has been. Unlike, since 2012, when Texas A&M emerged from Texas’ shadow? They were in the stronger conference, they were in the more prestigious conference. They didn’t have to function as ‘little brother’ within their own state anymore,” Davis explained. “Now, they go back, they’re in the same conference with Texas. They’re coming off a year in which Texas is likely to have won a conference championship and, very possibly, will be in the College Football Playoff.”

“There are no more divisions – so it’s not just dealing with Alabama and LSU in the division. Now, you’re dealing with Texas, you’re dealing with Oklahoma again which is also an issue,” said Davis. “And, oh, by the way? You’re also dealing with Georgia, you’re also dealing with Tennessee if they keep going. Eli Drinkwitz up there just won 10. What if Florida gets it going again?”

This is why, although Elko could very well work out, Davis doesn’t see it as a sure-fire success. He thinks that, in hindsight, Elko may have wished that he’d held out for a different gig considering all he sees standing in Texas A&M’s way moving forward.

“The Texas A&M job, right now, is even harder now than when Jimbo (Fisher) took over,” said Davis. “I’m curious about Mike Elko’s decision because I think that his reputation is such that there might have been – not necessarily easier jobs – but jobs that might have been better fits that might come open on the horizon.”

“You have to strike, you have the financial resources at A&M. It is potentially a great job if you are the one who can be the fixer, as Nick Saban was at LSU, who finally figured it out,” Davis said. “Eventually, somebody is going to figure it out at A&M. Mike Elko might well be that guy. If he does? It will be spectacular. But there are old challenges that haven’t been there the last decade that are reemerging starting next year. And then there are added ones.”