Aggies' Hiring of Mike Elko Called 'Elite' by 247Sports
As soon as the Jimbo Fisher era ended in College Station, speculation about who might replace him ran rampant. The hiring of new coach Mike Elko has been applauded by college football pundits and Aggies fans.
College football outlet 247Sports called the hiring of Elko an "elite" one.
“This wasn’t rocket science for the Aggies after their initial pursuit of Kentucky’s Mark Stoops went awry down the stretch,” 247Sports wrote. “The next choice was an obvious one with Elko, who transformed Duke in short order as a first-time head coach in the ACC after leaving Texas A&M’s staff previously as Jimbo Fisher‘s top assistant.
"Not only is Elko respected on the recruiting trail, but he’s going to bring a sense of toughness and blue-collar mentality the Aggies didn’t seem to possess under the previous regime.”
Elko served under Fisher as the Aggies' defensive coordinator from 2018-2021 where he built one of the most feared defenses in the country. He then left to become the head coach at Duke, where he led the Blue Devils to a 9-4 record in 2022 and scored a 30-13 win over UCF in the Military Bowl.
Elko steered Duke to a 28-7 win over Clemson to begin the 2023 season before finishing 7-5, then taking over the Aggies head coaching job in November of last year.
