After rumors swirled over the last month of potential head coaching vacancies, former Duke head coach Mike Elko’s name was at the top of several power five school’s wish lists. Sunday evening ESPN’s Pete Thamel broke the news that Texas A&M was in discussions with Elko to become the next coach. It has now been confirmed he has taken the job at A&M, arriving with his family at College Station shortly after 3AM this morning on a private jet.
Mike Elko signed an extension before the season with Duke through 2029 after an impressive 9-4 first-year finish that earned him ACC Coach of the Year.
Prior to his arrival, Duke was 0-8 in ACC play and the laughing stock of the league. The million dollar question now is where does Nina King and Duke turn for it’s head coaching vacancy? Mike Elko was brought to Durham to bring the program back to relevance, something that hadn’t quite been done since David Cutcliffe’s team played against Florida State in the ACC championship in Charlotte. The program needed a revamp. Not be used as a stepping stone.
With a graduating class of 39 seniors, the transfer portal being the wild wild west (as Elko once said), and NIL changing the landscape for collegiate sports Duke athletics director Nina King has another pivotal decision to make.
King knocked the ball out of the park with her first football hire, the hope now is that she will be able to do it again, so that the program that showed so much promise doesn’t lose momentum.
