DALLAS – A casual might interpret Day 4 of SEC media days as disrespectful. 

The circus mostly left town before Mike Elko took the stage for Texas A&M’s turn at talking season. Radio row thinned. Nick Saban was no longer on the SEC Network set. The main media room was half full. The first three days of media days in the Metroplex were a zoo. The last day was a prairie. 

But Elko & Co. didn’t feel slighted. In fact, they felt vindicated. Jimbo Fisher was all hat and no cattle. Elko’s main goal in his first six months on the job was to bring the noise in house. The Aggies don’t need to boast. They need to win. And wins aren’t possible in the offseason. A lesson Fisher never learned. 

“I’m most proud of the fact that it has been a quiet offseason,” Elko said in the local media scrum. “We’ve just gone to work. When you’re not hearing about programs in April, May, June, it’s usually a good thing.” 

Fisher always won the offseason. He was given a blank national championship trophy in an early PR blunder. The Aggies loudly signed the top-rated recruiting class in recorded history during the 2021 cycle. Texas A&M always made headlines, but they never reached the SEC championship. Fisher was 27-21 against the SEC and never won more than eight games in a season outside of the COVID year of 2020. He was given $76 million dollars and the boot to leave town. 

Coaching changes resemble personal breakups. Like anyone newly single, the search for the next partner tends to focus on the antithesis of the previous one. Fisher was an offensive-minded coach who was brash, talked fast, and operated even faster. The Aggie brass looked around the SEC and noticed a trend – the head coaches who were winning the most were defensive coaches who preferred to put their head down and work. Elko emerged as the ideal candidate because of his familiarity with Texas A&M and the current roster and because he was a 180-degree turn from the previous administration. 

Job No. 1 for Elko and his staff were to create an environment of accountability. Not just to the name on the helmet or the back of the jersey, but to the team. He grouped players together onto teams in the spring semester. If a player was late for a meeting or a workout or even a team meal, the whole team was dinged. The team with the most demerits at the end of the week was forced to do an extra workout, one that included a 500-yard weighted sled pushes that begin at 7 a.m. in the morning. Offensive lineman Trey Zuhn said that it took the team about a week to buy-in to the changes. 

“The accountability was the big change for us this offseason,” he said. “We had many different programs to keep people accountable and to make sure they were where they needed to be and doing what they needed to do.” 

Eight of the 12 coaches who proceeded Elko fielded questions about Texas. The Longhorns were ever-present throughout the four days. Elko himself heard three questions about his new rivals in the local media scrum prior to taking center stage on the main media stage, where he was asked about recruiting against Texas in the first two questions. He had to remind us that he has more pressing concerns – namely Notre Dame and 10 other games before Aggieland hosts Texas for the first time in over a decade. 

“(The game against Texas) is obviously a huge talking point for (the media), but our focus is on today, not on Thanksgiving weekend,” Elko said. “Our first worry is Notre Dame.” 

The route to the College Football Playoff includes more pathways after expanding to 12 teams ahead of the 2024 season. The transfer portal and NIL eliminated any grace period for new coaches. Elko doesn’t shy away from early expectations. He knows the 12th Man is hungry for success and that the 2024 schedule sets up for a run. The Aggies should be favored in every road game. The toughest four games on the schedule – Notre Dame, LSU, Mizzou, and Texas – take place at Kyle Field. 

“In this era of college football, you better speed the (rebuilding) process up,” Elko said. “I don’t think this is a patient era of college football. At the same time, you have to establish an identity and be careful not to skip the steps that set up for long-term success.”