Texas A&M hires Mike Elko: How will he fare?

Mike Elko has been announced as the head coach of Texas A&M.

The former Duke head coach (where he guided the Blue Devils to back-to-back bowl appearances, something rarely seen in Raleigh) returns to College Station, where he was defensive co-ordinator under Jimbo Fisher before his departure.

There was a celebratory press conference, filled with good graces and an Aggie War Hymn in front of about 200 Aggies fans who obviously had nothing better to do with their time came on Monday afternoon.

“There’s not many times when you go into the first team meeting and 50 of the players come up and give you a big hug and welcome you back,” Elko told the party. “But then I think when you get up in front of them, all of that has to go away, because it’s about new leadership. It’s about new direction. It’s about establishing a new identity.”

Elko will be paid $7 million per year, but it’s also incentive-laden. He’ll get $50K for being SEC Head coach of the year, $100K if he wins the National head coach of the year, as well as $100k if Texas A&M goes to the SEC Championship Game.

But there’s where the fun starts. A College Football Play-Off appearance will drop $1 million into his pocket. Quarter-finals? $1.5m. $2m for getting in the semifinals. $2.5m for a National Championship Game appearance – win or lose. And $3.5 million if he wins it all.

He’ll start by playing Notre Dame at Kyle Field on August 31st.

THE STOOPS QUESTION

Elko wasn’t Texas A&M’s first choice — it was Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops.

According to various journalists, Stoops was expected to sign on the dotted line straight after the Louisville game. But there was some kind of Twitter-rage which made the school rethink their decision, and although Stoops admitted that he had discussed matters with Texas A&M, the win over Kentucky gave him such massive warm fuzzies that he wasn’t going to leave Lexington anytime soon (Believe it when you see it!)!

WAS THE ELKO HIRE A SIDEWAYS ONE?

Elko’s hiring was seen by many as Stoops 2.0. Both are not ‘rockstar head coaches’, but more ‘safe pair of hands’. Texas A&M got its rockstar the last time, but he was so obsessed with beating everybody to the best recruiting classes. It worked. And then half of them hit up the transfer portal when they either realized that Texas A&M was really going nowhere, they were in trouble with the law, or left because they couldn’t fulfill the grade requirements.

Elko’s used to trying to keep kids in school from his days at Duke, which is one of college football’s ‘smart schools’.

ONE BURNING QUESTION

When Fisher was fired, Elko’s name was immediately on the social media chatter. After all, he was a fantastic DC at Texas A&M. He’d spent 4 years in College Station before the Duke option came up. As mentioned before, he’s used to the craziness.

So why wasn’t he hired in the first place?

THE 2024 SCHEDULE

If there’s any season to have a huge splash it’s 2024 for Elko. To say the least, it’s very forgiving.

The Notre Dame, LSU, Texas and Missouri games are at home (as is Missouri).

The away trips to Mississippi State, South Carolina, Auburn and Florida as good as you could ask for, bearing how mediocre-to-bad all four programs have been.

It would not surprise anyone if A&M goes to 10-2 next year, and Elko gets his $1 million for getting in the College Football Play-Offs.