News broke this morning that Texas A&M's defensive coordinator of the last two years, Jay Bateman, would be departing College Station to head to Kentucky for the same position. Bateman's two-year contract expired at the end of this season, and his future in Aggieland was in question after a reduction in responsibilities this past offseason.
Aggie head coach Mike Elko called the plays this past season after Bateman's play calling came under heavy fire in the 2024 season. That coincided with an improvement in the defensive performance that many expected (though the Aggies have been susceptible to big plays on the ground this year), especially when it comes to the pass defense.
That's also due to an ingenious move that Mike Elko made after his first year when he brought in then-James Madison DC Lyle Hemphill as the associate head coach for defense. He was meant to help out with the pass defense in particular, which has been the best part of this Aggie defense all year— and now, he'll be taking a step into Bateman's chair.
Texas A&M makes immediate move to promote Lyle Hemphill to DC after Jay Bateman departs
Hemphill's addition was seen as a great move when it was made, and it paid off on the field this year. Now, though, it looks absolutely prescient from the Aggie head man.
The new Aggie DC has a lot of familiarity with Mike Elko's system, having followed him to several spots. That sort of synergy will pay off big time now that he's in the DC chair.
Worth noting: After last season, Mike Elko took over the A&M defense as DC/'play caller' and also quickly went out and brought in Hemphill as someone with more familiarity within his scheme. Will be interesting to see if the HC/DC dynamic changes with Bateman's exit.
— Billy Liucci (@billyliucci) December 11, 2025
The question remains as to whether he will be a play caller or whether Elko will retain control. For a guy that has better familiarity with the system, it's highly possible that Elko decides to let him take the wheel on that front, as it's not the most ideal situation for a head coach to also be a play caller on one sid eof the ball (as Texas A&M fans well know).