Lane Kiffin didn’t hold back when the subject turned to Mike Elko at SEC Media Days. Wearing an LSU lapel pin on his blazer during his first appearance in that gear, Kiffin called the Texas A&M coach “a good CEO head coach.”
That kind of praise came from plenty of directions in Tampa, Florida, where coaches took turns talking up the third-year Aggies leader and the way he has revived the program in College Station. Kiffin, who took the LSU job on November 30 last year, also became the first head coach in SEC history to lead three different conference teams.
For Kiffin, Elko’s value goes beyond wins and losses. He pointed to Elko’s understanding of where college football is headed and how to thrive in it as a major reason he fits the CEO mold so well.
The results back that up. Elko is 19-7 in his first two seasons at Texas A&M, the second-best mark in program history for a coach’s first two years there, trailing only Kevin Sumlin. Under Elko, the Aggies reached their first 11-0 start since 1992 and made their first College Football Playoff appearance last season.
Elko, a New Jersey native, has embraced the expectations that come with the job. He has also made sure the standard is visible every day, telling his players to look at the empty trophy case as a reminder of where the program wants to go.
Texas A&M may be set up to keep pushing forward in 2026. Elko brought in the No. 4 transfer portal class and the No. 7 recruiting class in the country, while also keeping key veterans in the fold, including quarterback Marcel Reed, safety Marcus Ratcliffe and linebacker Daymion Sanford. All three were on hand representing the Maroon and White at SEC Media Days on Wednesday.
Elko’s mix of recruiting, development and roster management has become the backbone of Texas A&M’s rise in this era of college athletics. If he keeps operating at this level, the Aggies believe the next step is only a matter of time.
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