Of all the names being floated around for Penn State’s head coaching job, Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko’s might be the most appealing. With strong regional ties in the Northeast and some of the best recruiting prowess of any coach in the country, he certainly would be an ideal fit for the Nittany Lions going forward. Nevertheless, he would also be the hardest get as prying him away from his alma mater and a program willing to throw as much money as necessary into the football team. While Penn State will certainly use its connections to Elko, an argument to steal him from the deep pockets of A&M had better be convincing.
It’s not like Elko isn’t out of the question entirely. Born in South Brunswick, New Jersey and having graduated from UPenn as a student athlete, he knows the region well and most importantly, the people necessary to build a solid college football program. Having worked at schools such as Stony Brook, Fordham, Hofstra, and Richmond, he understands the nuances of recruiting in the North and how integral it can be to creating a team’s identity.
What’s most impressive is his ability to build programs from the ground up. In his three-and-a-half seasons with Duke and Texas A&M, he has gone a combined 30-14. This includes having this year’s iteration of the Aggies off to a 6-0 start, currently one of two unbeaten teams in the SEC (Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss are also undefetaed so far this season). No one needs reminding of his stellar coaching abilities. It just makes it that much harder for him to be pried away.
Mike Elko’s current deal with Texas A&M is seven years long for 42 million dollars, meaning 7 million annually. If he were to depart A&M, the contract buyout would be highly significant, reaching upwards of 21.8 million dollars. While Penn State is paying a hefty price for the firing of James Franklin, another hefty contract buyout would not be ideal. And that’s just the money side of things.
With the prominence of NIL deals in the college football landscape, money rules the roost. And there is perhaps no other program in college football that lets the money do the talking as much as Texas A&M. With countless boosters at their disposal, they are able to garner the best talent from not just recruiting trails, but through the transfer portal as well. Just this season alone, the Aggies were able to bring in 51 transfers with over 460 combined starts to their names. Leaving that environment if you’re Mike Elko and going into one of the country’s most challenging regions to recruit may not sound as cushy as just staying put. While Penn State will surely be willing to help bolster the recruitment process, the question will ultimately be how far Elko’s recruiting prowess extends.
Lastly, Elko is very much like several other coaches under consideration for the Penn State job: he predicates himself on building from the ground up. The problem is Penn State will not want a fixer-upper; they want a finisher. Pat Kraft and company truly believe they have the foundation of a championship-caliber roster, despite the potential departures of several key players to the NFL. Therefore, those hiring for the position must ask themselves, Do we want a project or someone who can produce a finished product? Elko could be said to land somewhere in the middle, but Penn State may not want to change its squad DNA too much.
While it’s certainly thrilling that a name such as Mike Elko’s is being thrown around in the discussions, there is too much evidence against him for Penn State fans to truly believe he’s their guy.
