Texas A&M’s expensive decision to fire Jimbo Fisher in the middle of a 10-year contract extension has paid off so far, and new head coach Mike Elko has the program Fisher built after Saturday’s win. They appeared to criticize him and used his press conference to promote the content. This is what the program has become since he took over.
“I think this is the way we communicate to young people,” Elko told reporters after Texas A&M defeated LSU and entered Sunday No. 1 in the SEC standings. “I think it’s about what we talk about, the message, how we bring really good people into the building. We talk about doing things together. We talk about culture. . And everyone talks about it, but then we go out and live it every day. And we think we stand behind our actions.
“We’re very honest. We’re very open. This is a real program. It’s not fake. The people who run this program are politicians who talk too fast and BS everyone. This is a real program. And for all the recruits out there, this is a real place and if you want to get really good at football, this is a really good place.”
Elko served as Fisher’s defensive coordinator from 2018-21 before being hired as head coach at Duke, where he led the Blue Devils to a 16-9 record and a bowl win over two seasons.
Then, during that second campaign, a vacancy appeared for the Aggies despite another dominant performance this year with Fisher at the helm.
In the competitive and soon-to-be-expanded SEC, Texas A&M started 6-4 in 2023 after going 5-7 in 2022. After the Aggies defeated Mississippi State, the university fired Fisher despite having eight years left on his term. His contract and buyout value is worth approximately $77 million.
That made it possible for me to reunite with Elko.
His first season has been mostly filled with success, including a 38-23 win over No. 8 LSU on Saturday. The 14th-ranked Aggies could be in the top 10 when the Associated Press releases its next rankings.
They lost their season opener to Notre Dame in September, but since then Elko has helped them to two wins against a top-10 opponent, the then-No. 1 Tigers on Saturday. No. 9 Missouri two weeks ago — to move the Aggies closer to the top of the college football rankings.
Against the Tigers, Texas A&M rushed for 242 yards and five touchdowns, including three by Marcell Reed and two by Le’Veon Moss.
The Aggies play South Carolina, New Mexico State and Auburn over the next three weeks, and finish the regular season with a showdown against No. 5 Texas, which remained undefeated and a College Football Playoff favorite until last week’s loss to Georgia. .
And the Aggies, led by Elko, have quickly become one unit with a revamped program.
He didn’t hesitate to mention that Saturday.