Mike Elko is returning to Texas A&M (though they could’ve had better)!
Texas A&M is reportedly hiring Mike Elko as the next head coach of their football program to follow-up his two-year run at Duke and being the defensive coordinator for the Aggies from 2018-2021, according to Yahoo Sports.
To give Elko credit, he did take over a Blue Devils program which went 5-18 (1-17 in the ACC) in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, turning them into a winner pretty quickly (though they did suffer a decline after just one season). And just to point it out, David Cutcliffe had Duke being a winning program before those two disastrous campaigns. But I’ll give Elko a few flowers.
Yeah, you could say what you want about the claim, “the Blue Devils would have been better if they had Riley Leonard,” (which is probably true) but I still can’t get over the fact how Texas A&M nearly had Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops.
Texas A&M is hiring Mike Elko as its next coach, sources confirm to @YahooSports, as @BrentZwerneman first reported. An announcement expected soon.
A wide-ranging national search in Aggieland ends with the Duke coach and former A&M defensive coordinator.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) November 26, 2023
Honestly, this blog is really nothing against Mike Elko; he’s a hell of a head coach and a good replacement for Stoops, but I can’t help but feel the Aggies dropped the ball with Mark Stoops considering how close they were.
Plus, he would have been the safer option as well as having a ton more success than Elko. I mean, damn, look at all the success he’s had at Kentucky, and how long and consistently he’s been achieving it.
But, hey, not a bad replacement, Texas A&M. I’m just saying: you dropped the ball with Mark Stoops, who could have turned y’all into a national powerhouse. (RELATED: Dang, Coach Prime! Deion Sanders Doesn’t Know Where Mount Rushmore Is)
I don’t really see that happening with Mike Elko, but only time will tell!