Texas A&M officially announces Mike Elko as next head coach
After reports surfaced on Sunday that Texas A&M had found its next head football coach, they made it official on Monday morning, announcing that former Duke head coach Mike Elko would be the next head coach for the Aggies.
Texas A&M parted ways with former head coach Jimbo Fisher on November 12 following the team’s dominant dominant 51-10 win over Mississippi State. Fisher was in the midst of his sixth season with the program, ending his tenure with a 45–25 overall record and a 27-21 record versus SEC opponents. But now the Aggies will look to Elko in order to take the program to new heights.
Here was the official announcement of the Elko hiring from the Texas A&M football Twitter account:
Elko joins the Aggies with just two years of head coaching experience, but also brings a familiarity with the program as well. Prior to his last two seasons with Duke, Elko spent four seasons with Texas A&M as the team’s defensive coordinator and safeties coach, where he helped lead the Aggies to a top-three scoring defense in his last two seasons in College Station.
Elko now returns to College Station after two impressive seasons with the Blue Devils, leading them to 9-4 finish in his first season at the helm where he was named ACC Coach of the Year and a 7-4 record to end the 2023 regular season highlighted by a 4-0 start to the season. He also brings over 20 years of collegiate coaching experience to the table including defensive coordinator stops at Notre Dame, Wake Forest, and Bowling Green.
The Aggies and athletic director Ross Bjork may have found who they feel is the right man for the job in Elko, but unfortunately they’ll have to pay him along with Fisher for quite some time.
Fisher’s $77.6 million buyout set a new record in college football, with Texas A&M owing him 25% of that amount within the first 60 days following his termination followed by annual payments of $7.2 million that they’ll make through 2031.
There’s no question the Aggies’ wallet will be hurting as they’ll have to pay two head coaches for the next handful of years, but hopefully, Elko brings the results on the field the program is looking for which would soothe any of their financial burdens.