Texas A&M Aggies reunite with former assistant who will right the ship in troubled unit after poor CFP showing
The Texas A&M Aggies have brought back former coach Elijah Robinson to help fix their defensive line.
The Texas A&M Aggies are coming off of a disappointing finish to their strong 2025 season, ending their season by dropping the first round of the College Football Playoff to the Miami Hurricanes 10-3.
Head coach Mike Elko was disappointed in how poor the team played in the trenches on both sides of the ball on Saturday, failing to establish the run on a troubled Hurricanes’ run defense and routinely getting beaten up by Miami’s pass rushers on offense while struggling to put pressure on Miami’s Carson Beck and getting run off the field by the Hurricanes.
Elko was quick to take steps to resolve one side of those issues. On Monday, the Aggies announced the hire (or perhaps, re-hire) of Elijah Robinson as defensive line coach.
Elijah Robinson back to fix poor A&M defensive line
A&M’s vaunted defensive line was largely negated by Miami, making it two straight games to end the season their pass rush was held up by ranked teams. In both of their final games, the Aggies were gashed on the ground, giving up over 200 to the Texas Longhorns and 175 to Miami. Additionally, they combined for just seven pressures on Miami and had just four sacks in both games, largely relying on blitzes to get home.
That’s not how Mike Elko wants to operate as a defensive coach, partly prompting the hire of Robinson. A former Elko assistant at A&M when the two worked under Jimbo Fisher, Robinson is replacing Sean Spencer, who is taking the same job at Virginia Tech under James Franklin.
Robinson is a tremendous recruiter and has produced several talented NFL Draft picks throughout his career. Dayton Mack, Justin Madubuike, McKinnley Jackson, and Walter Nolen were all coached and developed into NFL players by Robinson during his prior tenure with the Aggies, and he’s well-known for his recruiting prowess. With the loss of key players like Cashius Howell, the Aggies need this position fixed – and fast.
For the Aggies, this was a key step as they reload the staff in preparation for next season. Both coordinators are taking different jobs, with offensive coordinator Collin Klein returning to serve as Kansas State’s head coach and defensive coordinator Jay Bateman taking the same job as Kentucky. Other assistants, such as the aforementioned Spencer and cornerbacks coach Jordan Peterson have already been hired away for other jobs as well as teams picked at the pie of A&M’s successful 2025 season.
This won’t be the last hire Elko will make this offseason, but Robinson could be the most important.
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