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Texas A&M has reportedly made a hire to replace Jimbo Fisher.
After a messy exchange with Mark Stoops that played out late Saturday night and into Sunday morning, the Aggies have found a new coach and it’s Duke’s Mike Elko, a former defensive coordinator under Fisher with the Aggies, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Last season, Elko led Duke to an overall record of 9-4 capped by a 30-13 victory over UCF in the Military Bowl as he became the first head coach in program history to lead his team to 9 wins and a bowl victory in the first season at the helm.
Elko spent 2018-21 as Fisher’s defensive coordinator, but he left to become the head coach at Duke. He is 16-9 in 2 seasons with the Blue Devils.
As DC at A&M, Elko was also safeties coach as the Aggies were 34-14 (.708) and went to 4 consecutive bowl games.
Texas A&M turns to Mike Elko to replace Jimbo Fisher https://t.co/Nk978vWDRt via @houstonchron
— Brent Zwerneman (@BrentZwerneman) November 26, 2023
Texas A&M opened after the Nov. 11 win over Mississippi State. Fisher went 45–25 in 5 and a half seasons in College Station.
Fisher’s buyout, more than $75 million, turned heads nationally, as Athletics Director Ross Bjork said the program was stuck in neutral.
“That’s the hard part in all of this,” Bjork said. “How many sitting head coaches won national championships? So, everyone had tons of optimism. But it just goes back to the last couple of years. Do we have momentum? Do we have hope? How do we see things trending? And we just didn’t see the trend lines improving.”
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
