Mike Elko 'shouldn't be doubted' amid Texas A&M's massive NIL spending

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Last week, On3’s Pete Nakos published an article detailing several college football programs’ NIL spending in the 2027 recruiting cycle, and according to one SEC general manager, Texas A&M, under third-year coach Mike Elko spent “easily $10 million” compared to an average of $5 or $7 million, which wasn’t a shocking revelation for most who have been paying attention to some of the recent NIL-based deals.

Texas A&M’s No. 1-ranked 2027 recruiting class, led by five-star offensive tackle Mark Matthews, who will reportedly earn $1 million during his career in College Station, has resulted in plenty of national skepticism from opposing fan bases who are essentially treating the Aggies’ success during the 2025 season as an outlier, and not a sign of continued success under Mike Elko’s guidance.

Former head coach Jimbo Fisher’s six-year career wasn’t a complete disaster, but his success on the recruiting trail, which included the historic 2022 cycle, never resulted in more than nine wins, while his focus on “star chasing” prospects instead of pursuing scheme fits with leadership qualities led to Fisher’s dismissal just a week before the end of the 2023 regular season.

Ignoring the near hiring debacle orchestrated by former AD Ross Bjork, Mike Elko was hired on November 27, 2023, and after a poor finish during his inaugural 2024 season, Texas A&M’s 11-0 start led to the Aggies’ first appearance in the College Football Playoff.

Still, consecutive losses to Texas and Miami in the first round of the CFP have once again created doubt regarding Elko’s ability to sustain last season’s success after the New Jersey native signed his six-year contract extension worth $69 million.

Well, for Elko to win over the rest of the Aggie fan base still on the edge, making it back to the CFP this fall is a start, and On3’s Ari Wasserman laid out what makes Mike Elko a perfect fit in College Station heading into his third season.

“Elko is different, and people should be able to tell right now. Starting with the hire itself. Why? Because Elko was a functional hire. When Texas A&M paid a record buyout to fire Fisher, it could have done what it always does after. It could have gone out, spent a boatload of money, and tried to make the biggest splash of a hire imaginable. It could have, like it has done so many times in the past, thrown an insane check at a problem and hoped it would go away.”

While Elko’s four seasons as Texas A&M’s defensive coordinator led to his first head coaching gig with Duke, two seasons in the ACC usually don’t result in landing one of the premier jobs in college football, but if you ask a Texas A&M fan or alum, their No. 1 choice after Fisher was fired, Elko’s name will come up more often than not.

Texas A&M’s 2026 schedule is tough, but manageable, and with quarterback Marcel Reed returning for his second full starting season, coupled with 65% of the 2025 roster returning, and 17 transfer additions, the Aggies are poised to make another run to the postseason, but nothing is guaranteed.

“There’s no telling how good Texas A&M will be in 2026. Last season, most people weren’t sure what to expect from the Aggies, yet they made the CFP. This offseason feels a lot like last offseason, though quarterback Marcel Reed is a better-known commodity. We know Texas A&M has athletes, but is it CFP-good again? Who knows, but here’s what we should know now: Elko shouldn’t be doubted.”

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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Mike Elko ‘shouldn’t be doubted’ amid Texas A&M’s massive NIL spending

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