Key Texas A&M Football Assistant Departing for Coordinator Job
In a decision that many Texas A&M football fans feared was coming down the pike, current interim coach and longtime defensive line coach Elijah Robinson is headed to Syracuse to coordinate the defense for the Orange. Billy Liucci broke the news late Sunday afternoon that the Aggie assistant was making the jump to the ACC.
BREAKING: Just got word that A&M d-line coach Elijah Robinson is headed to Syracuse as the new Orange defensive coordinator. E-Rob's first crack at running the defense so a big step for tge longtime Aggie assistant.
— Billy Liucci (@billyliucci) December 3, 2023
Coach Robinson has long been one of the lead recruiters on the Aggie staff and was responsible for bringing in many of the current top players on the Texas A&M football team. The Aggies had submitted an offer to make Robinson the highest paid position coach in the sport, but it appears that the sticking point was the ability to call plays. The role he was offered at A&M reportedly did not include that responsibility, while Syracuse did.
Texas A&M offered Elijah Robinson what would’ve been the highest salary for an assistant in CFB per @billyliucci
— AggiesToday (AT) (@AggiesToday) December 3, 2023
Not much you can do to beat a lifelong relationship between him and Syracuses new HC.
As mentioned in the above tweet, the new Syracuse head coach and Robinson have a long relationship, which was no doubt key in this decision.
It has yet to be announced who will be the coach for the bowl game, now that Robinson has departed. I would assume it would be either DJ Durkin, who has obviously served as a head coach previously, or perhaps James Coley or Jim Chaney. One of the advantages of having so many former high-level coaches and assistants on staff is the options you have in this very strange situation!
The worry now for Texas A&M football fans is the ability to keep around some of the top talent whose relationship with Robinson was a huge factor in their decision to come to College Station. The Aggies can be very competitive in the world of NIL and the transfer portal, of course, but relationships are not something easily duplicated. Coach Elko’s hires on the defensive side just got that much more important, but it sounds like the meticulous head man has a contingency plan ready to go.
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