Sources: Duke’s Mike Elko Emerges As Top Candidate for Texas A&M Job

Published 3:32 pm Sunday, November 26, 2023

Duke‘s Mike Elko has emerged as the leading candidate at Texas A&M but, as of early evening Sunday, had not yet made a final decision on taking the job, sources tell Sports Illustrated. Elko told his Blue Devils team on Sunday afternoon that he would make a decision within 24 hours, according to a report from ESPN.

Elko, a former defensive coordinator at A&M from 2018 to ’21, came into play Sunday after talks with Kentucky coach Mark Stoops were abruptly halted Saturday night. Negotiations with Stoops had gotten far enough down the road that the coach told some staffers and others close to him that he was going to take the A&M job. But shortly 1 a.m. on Sunday, Stoops sent out a tweet saying that he was staying at Kentucky.

Elko has rebuilt Duke into an ACC contender, going 16–9 in two seasons there. He was a candidate for the vacant Michigan State job but removed his name from consideration last week, paving the way for the Spartans to hire Jonathan Smith of Oregon State.