CFB Insiders hint at Big Ten team aiming to sabotage Texas A&M’s promising College Football Playoff season
Could the Penn State head coach opening derail Texas A&M’s CFP-caliber season?
Last week, the Penn State Nittany Lions fired head coach James Franklin after another disappointing season with Franklin at the helm. Since that job has opened, speculation has run rampant on who the Nittany Lions will aim to pull in to replace Franklin. Penn State is one of the biggest blue bloods and brands in college football, so they theoretically will be able to pull in almost anyone they want to.
Many are theorizing that their top target could be from another major brand in college football in Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko. On the College Gameday podcast this week, Rece Davis hinted at the Nittany Lions being aggressive in their pursuit of Elko given what he’s done for the Aggies this season.
“The big swing,” Rece Davis said. “These people are taking big swings. Everybody knows what Florida‘s big swing is going to be, it appears. I would say, to your point, Elko and the Brink’s truck brought up, the big swing for Penn State would be to try to lure Mike Elko back home… if you’re looking at it from the mindset of those who are looking for a new coach, I would think that a logical big swing without some of the downside of the other candidates at Penn State, a big swing would be, ‘Let’s go see if Elko says no.’”
Could Elko truly be on his way out already despite his success with A&M? It’s worth a discussion.
Would Mike Elko want to return home?
Right away, it seems silly to imagine Elko wanting to leave a job of the caliber of Texas A&M. He has a massive amount of resources in one of the best recruiting hotbeds in the country and is playing in the SEC. He’s obviously well compensated and will be once again if this season continues to unfold the way it has thus far in 2025.
However, Elko is a New Jersey native and played for Penn. He spent much of his career in the northeast region, and Penn State is much closer to home than A&M. Given that Penn State is at least similar in terms of resources and prestige, it’s a genuine opportunity for Elko to consider. Penn State has the resources to “make Elko say no” to the job, and it would undoubtedly come with less pressure than A&M.
Yet, we’ve seen teams grow increasingly proactive in efforts to get ahead of the coaching cycle and keep their coaches. Exactly one week ago, Indiana signed head coach Curt Cignetti to a massive $11.6 million per year extension in just his second year leading the Hoosiers. Elko has the Aggies on the verge of their first 8-0 season since 1992, and A&M is getting closer and closer to their first College Football Playoff appearance. I would expect Elko to command an even bigger deal from A&M in an effort to keep him in College Station, and it would be well-deserved.
How this battle shakes out will be a storyline to monitor all season long. It would be hard to blame Elko either way no matter what he decides. For now though, his main focus is on beating the LSU Tigers this weekend in what is shaping up to be a key showdown for the Aggies.
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