Texas A&M football fans were all extremely disappointed with the way the Aggie defense played down the stretch of last season. Especially away from Kyle Field, the A&M D was simply horrendous in the month of November, giving up 31 to Auburn in regulation and 44 to South Carolina. Holding Texas to 17 was an impressive feat, but it didn't make up for what we saw in the other games.
After the bowl game against USC, Elko all but promised that there would be some major changes on that side of the ball. With him being such an elite defensive mind, you know it had to be burning him up that the defense seemingly could not get a single stop.
Mike Elko: "I won't watch the defense play like this ever again."
— TexAgs (@TexAgs) December 28, 2024
As Aggie fans watched and waited, however, no changes came to the defensive staff, and it looked like everyone would be retained. After such a strong statement in the bowl game presser, how could Elko be standing pat?
The first bellwether that changes were inbound, though, was the recent hire of former JMU DC Lyle Hemphill as a defensive assistant. I've already covered why that's an elite move by Elko, but it didn't stop there.
Mike Elko rumored to be taking control of defense for Texas A&M football at long last
The recent intrigue surrounding Jay Bateman's status in College Station, as he mulled over whether to stay or to go to Virginia Tech, was apparently precipitated by the move that Aggie fans have been wanting to see for some time now. It's been rumored that the big motivating factor for Bateman was Elko's decision to take over the defense for the upcoming year.
Per Texags, Billy lucci is pretty confident that Mike Elko will play call for the defense next season, no matter the future defensive hires to come.
— The Good Ag (@The_Good_Ag) January 27, 2025
If this is true, it's just the move that Aggie fans have been waiting for. Elko is one of the best defensive minds in the game, if not the best, and though he tried to be more hands-off as a CEO-type coach, it clearly didn't work for the program last year. With him now at the helm, A&M fans can rest assured that their defensive unit will look much better in 2025 and beyond.