New Aggies Coach Mike Elko Reveals What Changes Were Needed at Texas A&M

The Texas A&M Aggies were in need of a change, and that is exactly what new head coach Mike Elko intends to bring.

Since the Days of Johnny Manziel, the Texas A&M Aggies football program as been searching for an identity. 

The desire - particularly after the hiring of Jimbo Fisher - was to compete for SEC titles and national championships.

Of course, that never happened. Fisher never won more than 9 games, never got the Aggies in position to make it to Atlanta, and was fired in the midst of his sixth season with the program. 

Now, the Aggies are turning the page to new head coach Mike Elko - and he believes he knows precisely what he needs to do to take the Aggies to the next level. 

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"The unique spot that I have sitting here for four years is I know all of the reasons why this place can win a national championship, and then I probably know some of the reasons why we failed, which I think gives me a unique perspective coming in," Elko told ESPN. "I come in with a lot more knowledge of what Texas A&M is all about. That can only help, and I just think we've got to be intelligent about how we go about building this place because it's a place where it has high expectations and you have to win now for sure, but you've got to still focus on building it in a way that allows you to sustain the success that you have for long periods of time."

So how does Elko 'build things the right way'? 

After all, if it were that simple, Fisher or Kevin Sumlin would have done it. They had the resources and the support to do anything they needed to do to get the Aggies over the hump. 

Well, according to Elko, it starts with the right people and the right staff - something he has been building non stop since his arrival in College Station. 

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"I think it starts with good people," Elko said in the interview. "That's where every foundational program starts, is getting the right people, and so it starts with the right people on this floor of coaching. It starts with the right people in this building from a support staff, analytical role from the people in your strength and the conditioning department, and then you've got to build culture within your locker room... This place has tremendous facility foundation, but within that, you still have to build a foundational core of who your program is going to be about."

It will likely be difficult to tell if Elko's plan is working for at least a couple of years. In other words, Aggie fans are going to have to be patient. 

But if it does work, and Elko gets the program back on the right track to compete, the sky will be the limit for Texas A&M fans.