The appeal for both sides seemed obvious: Elko is a native of New Jersey and would be close to home for his first head coaching job; the Owls would get a defensive-minded coach who had led an impressive turnaround for the Aggie defense in 2018.

But as soon as Elko's name was linked to the Temple job, sources close to the A&M program told AggieYell.com that Aggie fans shouldn't worry, as Elko wasn't going anywhere.

Now we know why those sources were so confident.

An open records request by the Dallas Morning News obtained Elko's new contract, the terms of which are impressive. Elko's annual salary has been bumped from $1.8 million to $2.1 million, making him one of four defensive coordinators in college football making more than $2 million per year. Kevin Steele of Auburn, Dave Aranda of LSU and Brent Venables of Clemson are the other three.

Under the terms of the new deal, A&M has the option to extend Elko's contract annually, and they have already done so through 2022. There is no buyout if Elko takes a head coaching job, but he would owe the university $1.05 million if he took another assistant job in the SEC.

Interestingly, it appears Elko worked without a formal contract in 2018. He signed his new deal Feb.1.

The Aggie defense took a massive step forward in 2018 under Elko, improving from 76th nationally in total defense to 32nd -- including 3rd nationally against the run. He will have to work with a new-look defense this year, having lost starters Daylon Mack, Kingsley Keke, Landis Durham, Otaro Alaka and Tyrel Dodson. The Aggies do, however, return plenty of talent, starting with linemen Justin Madubuike, Jayden Peevy and Bobby Brown and safety Leon O'Neal.