Where Does Texas A&M Aggies Coach Mike Elko Stand in 2024 SEC Football Rankings?

We're smack dab in the middle of the college football offseason when pretty much everything takes a back seat to college basketball and March Madness.

Sep 30, 2023; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Elko smiles just before / Jaylynn Nash-USA TODAY Sports

We're smack dab in the middle of the college football offseason when pretty much everything takes a back seat to college basketball and March Madness. Before we start seeing rankings of college football offseasons and spring football position group battles, it's time to rank the SEC head coaches.

It's a different college football game than we saw just five seasons ago, and the coaches who can adapt are the ones who will be most successful. Example? Alabama's Nick Saban cited the "changing landscape of the game" as one of his reasons for retiring.

Sep 30, 2023; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Elko smiles just before / Jaylynn Nash-USA TODAY Sports

On3 issued its ranking of the 16 SEC head coaches including new members, Texas and Oklahoma, as well as new coaches for the Aggies, Alabama Crimson Tide and Mississippi State Bulldogs. And it believes Texas A&M's Mike Elko is right in the middle of the pack at No. 9.

"Elko is 16-9 in two seasons as Duke’s head coach, leading the Blue Devils to one of their best seasons in school history in 2022," On3 wrote. "He got the Texas A&M job because of his coaching (and player development) acumen, plus a personality that should play well with the Aggies’ fickle booster base. 

"If Elko can win in Durham, he could do big things in College Station considering Texas A&M’s resources and recruiting footprint. He hired a strong staff (especially OC Collin Klein) and quickly plugged holes on the Aggies’ roster with a number of notable transfer portal additions. The sample is small, but Elko has also shown to be a very good game-day coach. It won’t be any surprise if he rises up these rankings in the years to come."

No. 1 on the list is Georgia's Kirby Smart, while LSU's Brian Kelly, Alabama's Kalen DeBoer, Texas' Steve Sarkisian and Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin round out the top five, respectively.

The bottom five consist of No. 16, Mississippi State's Jeff Lebby, Vanderbilt's Clark Lea, Arkansas' Sam Pittman, Florida's Billy Napier and South Carolina's Shane Beamer.