DALLAS — Mike Elko is the new head football coach at Texas A&M, introduced Monday in College Station. Elko is a coach I actually covered when I was in college and he was the defensive coordinator at my alma mater, Hofstra University. Now, a decade and a half later, he's the man in charge at Kyle Field.
I'm excited for Elko. I think he's genuinely a very good hire for A&M. And I think he's the type of grounded, substantive hire that A&M needed, after years of more flash than anything else.
But Elko in his press conference on Monday said something that just doesn't compute for me. He talked about how A&M is going to fulfill their potential as "the premier football program in the country," and that "the best version of Texas A&M wins national championships."
And I just want to ask: Based on what? Texas A&M, their fans, their boosters -- they all believe their program should be among the elite in college football. Based on what?
They won 11 games in 2012, and Johnny Manziel won the Heisman Trophy. It was a banner year for the program. But it was also their last double-digit win season. Prior to that 2012 season, you have to go back to 1998 to find another time the Aggies reached the 10-win mark.
Texas A&M has two double-digit win seasons since I was eight years old. The Kansas Jayhawks have stumbled their way into just as many.
I'm happy for Elko, and I hope for his sake he has success in College Station. I think he has a real chance.
But the idea that the A&M should be a premier program in the country? It takes more than just money to build that. The Aggies are proof.
Maybe Mike Elko is finally the missing link.
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