Ross Bjork: 'Elijah Robinson is all about the players'

The Texas A&M Aggies decided to part ways with Jimbo Fisher on Sunday after beating Mississippi State over the weekend. Following that move, athletic director Ross Bjork promoted Elijah Robinson to interim head coach.

During a press conference, Bjork explained that the reason he promoted Robinson had everything to do with the players.

“The players. The players are the most important,” Ross Bjork said. “And, in fact, I was on the practice field this week, and I was talking to a scout, and we were kind of checking out each position group, and he was fixated on the defensive line group. Of course, there’s a lot of talent there, but he was actually fixated on how they were being coached.”

Elijah Robinson was promoted to assistant head coach and run game coordinator in January 2022. Prior to that, he spent four seasons as the team’s defensive line coach. He also has been an assistant coach at Baylor, Temple, and Penn State. A neck injury ended his playing career early with Penn State.

“So, to me, Elijah is all about the players. The reaction was awesome today when he spoke to the team, and so I wanted somebody that the players would gravitate towards. It’s going to be a lot coming at their way. We know what that means. And so I’ve already seen a lot of positivity around his leadership, so that’s really what it was all about.”

Another thing Ross Bjork pointed to was Texas A&M’s offensive and defensive coordinators, Bobby Petrino and DJ Durkin. He said their head coach experience played a role in the decision to promote Robinson.

“And one other thing. We have two experienced coordinators that know what they’re doing with coach Petrino and Durkin. And so that allows that decision as well.”

Texas A&M AD Ross Bjork releases statement in formal announcement of Jimbo Fisher’s firing

Following the decision to part ways with head coach Jimbo Fisher, Ross Bjork released a statement about the decision to move on.

“After very careful analysis of all the components related to Texas A&M football, I recommended to President Welsh and then Chancellor Sharp that a change in the leadership of the program was necessary in order for Aggie football to reach our full potential and they accepted my decision,” Bjork wrote. 

“We appreciate Coach Fisher’s time here at Texas A&M and we wish him the best in his future endeavors.”