After a tumultuous few seasons under Jimbo Fisher, the Texas A&M Aggies made a coaching change last November. Fisher was out with a $75-plus million buyout, and interim coach Elijah Robinson completed the season in his place.
Texas A&M hired new coach Mike Elko in late November, filling the vacancy from the inside – kind of. Elko served as Fisher’s defensive coordinator in College Station from 2018 through 2021.
Sep 30, 2023; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Elko smiles just before
Jaylynn Nash-USA TODAY Sports
Elko might not have known it at the time, but he accepted a top 10 college football coaching job nationally.
College football recruiting and news outlet 247Sports recently published its top 10 coaching jobs – which involves teams it thinks has the tools to compete for a national championship. The Aggies hit right at No. 10.
“Resources, resources and more resources. Did we mention resources? A football program backed by donors who can pay $76 million to ask a coach to leave, then fork out another handsome lump to bring in their guy with extra funds earmarked for transfer portal help deserves mention. The money around College Station is begging for a winner and program in the annual hunt. Perhaps Mike Elko is the guy who’s going to do it for the Aggies.
“The ‘sleeping giant’ term is lazy and overused. Texas A&M should be one of the starring attractions at the state fair, but for whatever reason, has brought home the top prize in the modern era. Kyle Field is a cathedral on gamedays and this program is rich on pageantry. Major success is overdue, though as Texas A&M supports have realized, it’s not a birthright, either.”
The ‘best jobs’ described here mean that ‘if’ all teams had vacancies last season, what would be the likely order of preference?
Six of the ten are SEC teams, with Georgia coming in at No. 1, followed by Texas (2), Ohio State (3), LSU (4), Alabama (5), Oregon (6), Oklahoma (7), Florida State (8) and MIchigan (9).
