DALLAS -- When a major football program fires a coach, many decide to hire the opposite of their ex. It's hard to find a more stark example than at Texas A&M.
The last decade of Texas A&M football has been defined by hype. Remember the "SwagCopters" of the Kevin Sumlin era? Or the No. 1 recruiting class of 2022 that sparked a war of words between Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher, the coach who spoke a thousand words a minute?
Those days appear over. Now, enter Mike Elko. The former Duke coach spent four years with the Aggies as a defensive coordinator (2018-21) but almost never spoke to the media. With the Blue Devils, Elko led one of the quietest and most underrated turnarounds in college football. He won 16 games in just two years, more than tripling the program's win total from the final two years of the David Cutcliffe era.
So when Elko took over one of the loudest programs in college football, he knew what he had to do.
"We had to have some real, honest conversations when I took over about where we were as a program," Elko said. "We can't verbalize what we are, facts tell us who we are. We were a 12-13 football program the last two years. The only way to change that is to work."
From the beginning, Elko preached quiet competence. There have been few glowing features or national profiles. Quotes from the Aggies are not going viral. You won't find many practice clips on TikTok. Frankly, his appearance at the podium at SEC Media Days was downright bland. That's by design.
"We love silence," offensive tackle Trey Zuhn said. "We're just doing our work, grinding every single day so we can put our best foot forward against Notre Dame."
Elko grew up in a working class family in South Brunswick, New Jersey, thousands of miles from College Station, Texas. However, his blue-collar background has quickly become a perfect fit at Texas A&M, a historic agricultural school that has made its mark on national college football.
During his first appearance at SEC Media Days, Elko said he didn't consciously try to change the narrative at Texas A&M. It's just who he is.
"You earn the right to have success in the game of football," Elko said. "I think that's a recipe that has stood the test of time. The offseason is about being in places where nobody's watching, where no one's following you on Instagram, where nobody's posting about what you're doing. It's about getting up every day and going to get better so you can have success in the fall."
Over the past two years, an unprecedented amount of hype has fallen flat. The Aggies signed the No. 1 recruiting class of all time in 2022 -- and followed it up by missing their first bowl game since 2008 that same year. Twelve players in that historic class ranked among the top 55 prospects in the nation in that cycle. Nine have since transferred.
While several of those players are having success elsewhere, it's only created opportunity for those who remained to grow. None of the three Aggies attendees at SEC Media Days were five-star prospects. Linebacker Taurean York was barely a top-1000 recruit. Instead of pedigree, the focus has been on accountability.
"That's one thing that Coach Elko prides himself on: work," said defensive lineman Shemar Turner. "If you work, he's going to love you."
Texas A&M enters the 2024 season largely under the radar after its worst two-year run the since 2009. However, Elko has enjoyed how little attention his program is receiving. That, he said, helps them focus.
The Aggies won't be in the shadows for long. Their Week 1 game against Notre Dame brings major national attention in town. When the lights shine brightest, the Aggies will have plenty of expectations. But when the ball kicks off, Texas A&M hopes its focus on the work when no one is watching will lead to new results.
"If you want to get different results, you have to change what you are doing," Elko said. "I think we have embraced that this offseason."
