Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko has defied a lot of expectations since arriving in College Station, among both the Aggie fanbase and the wider public. There was a lot of doubt about his ability to recruit when he came on board, but he has proven that to be of no substance so far with some big time wins on the trail, and he's shown himself to be ahead of schedule on the field by getting the Aggies to 11 wins this past season.
Though he's only been the head man in Aggieland for two seasons, his reputation is on a rapid ascent. That in mind, it should be no surprise that he came in as a top-10 head coach in America on this list put out by prolific college football commentator Josh Pate:
🚨2026 HEAD COACH RANKINGS🚨
— Josh Pate (@JoshPateCFB) February 23, 2026
To those ranked, don’t embarrass me.
To those unranked…prove me wrong. pic.twitter.com/M1GuiV4okj
Mike Elko receives top-10 praise from Josh Pate after exciting first two years in College Station
Pate characterizes the criteria for this list as follows: a three-year rolling blend of on-field results (with a lean towards recent results), talent acquisition and development, culture and organizational strength, and a slight predictive element.
You can see how Elko would stack up well in each of those categories, obviously. The biggest thing hurting him is probably his results three years ago at Duke, which are still being factored in (though not as heavily as last year's results). He's done a great job at bringing in talent both from the high school ranks and the portal, the Aggie football organization is stronger than ever, and things look bright going forward for the Ags.
Texas A&M will have to face off with three of the coaches on this list above the Aggies in the upcoming season, though two of them in DeBoer and Sarkisian are on a downward trend right now. Elko has to prove himself at an elite level in this upcoming season, and he'll have plenty of opportunities to do so.