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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Texas A&M’s newest football coach is Duke’s Mike Elko, as announced by athletic director Ross Bjork on Monday.
Elko previously served as Texas A&M’s defensive coordinator and left to take the head-coaching job at Duke two years ago. During his time at Texas A&M, he was the coordinator for the team’s successful seasons, including the 9-1 campaign in 2020 that led to an Orange Bowl victory.
Bjork praised Elko’s “vision for Aggie football” and commended him for having a plan for “innovation and greatness” at the school.
According to Bjork, “Coach Mike Elko is one of the best leaders and coaches in college football and has had high-level success at each stop of his career.” He further added, “He is known amongst coaching circles as one of the best defensive minds in the country and has shown his ability to lead and turn around a program as a Power 5 head coach.”
A news conference introducing Elko has been scheduled for Monday afternoon.
One of the best leaders and coaches in college football has been named the next head football coach at Texas A&M.
Welcome back to Aggieland, @CoachMikeElko!
🔗 » https://t.co/ARPmQHOTX1 | #GigEm pic.twitter.com/x89fVDfnzw
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) November 27, 2023
Since Elko’s departure after the 2021 season, Texas A&M’s performance has declined. The Aggies went 12-12 the past two seasons, leading the school to pay a record $76 million buyout to fire coach Jimbo Fisher. This buyout is the biggest in the history of the sport and is not subject to offset or mitigation.
Elko quickly proved himself as a head coach, overseeing one of college football’s most significant turnarounds after joining Duke for the 2022 season. Duke went 9-4 in Elko’s first season after he inherited a team that had been 3-9 the year before.
Elko’s performance this year positioned him as a candidate for a higher-profile job when Duke started the season with a 28-7 win at No. 9 Clemson. However, the team’s trajectory changed after a loss to Notre Dame at home, which occurred when starting quarterback Riley Leonard got injured in the fourth quarter, and Duke ended the season 7-5, still securing a bowl game for the second consecutive season.
Elko is taking over a Texas A&M program that has struggled to maximize its financial and talent resources. The school has not won a league title since 1998 and has not played in the conference title game since joining the SEC in 2012.
A defensive coach by trade, Elko has worked at various institutions over the years, including Bowling Green, Wake Forest, and Fordham, where he has learned to maximize available resources. He achieved that at Duke by implementing wholesale changes without a significant personnel overhaul after the program had dipped under his predecessor, David Cutcliffe.
ESPN’s Chris Low contributed to this report.
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