Elko's back
Duke coach Mike Elko, who served as Texas A&M's defensive coordinator from 2018-2021, will replace his former boss Jimbo Fisher as the head coach of the Aggies.
Elko, who rebuilt the Aggie defense into one of the nation's better groups after the disastrous final years of Kevin Sumlin's tenure, engineered the second biggest year-over-year turnaround in ACC history in 2022, taking Blue Devils from 3 wins the season before to 8. Duke ended the season with 9 wins after a victory in the Military Bowl.
The Blue Devils started the 2023 season strong, blitzing then-No. 9 Clemson 28-9 in their season opener and pushing their record to 5-1 after a 24-3 win over N.C. State. But an injury to starting quarterback Riley Leonard hurt the team's offense badly as they won just two of their last six games to finish 7-5.
As he did at A&M, Elko led a remarkable turnaround at Duke. Last year, the Blue Devils went from 102nd and 127th nationally in scoring offense and defense to 31st, respectively, in both categories. Duke’s total offense and defensive rankings also advanced under Elko, going from 54th and 130th to 43rd and 67th, respectively.
Elko's hiring should be welcome news for most current Aggie players, who either knew him from his time on staff or during the recruiting process. Sources say Elko is also planning to keep interim head coach Elijah Robinson on staff, likely as the team's new defensive coordinator.
Contractual terms for Elko have not been announced.