Jay Bateman reveals he will coach from the press box at Texas A&M

New Texas A&M Aggies defensive coordinator Jay Bateman has revealed ahead of the 2024 regular season that he plans on coaching from the press box.

As Bateman explained, it’s better to only have one person on the field level between himself and head coach Mike Elko. Given that Elko is the Texas A&M head coach, it makes it an easy choice to move him to the booth.

“I’m gonna be in the press box,” Jay Bateman said. “I’ve kind of gone back and forth with that, but I do think with Mike on the sideline and me in the press box. Mike can’t be in the press box. I don’t think we’ll let him do that. So, I’m going to be in the press box.”

Bateman has plenty of experience calling games as a defensive coordinator. He’s held that title since 2006, with the exception of two seasons he spent with the Florida Gators. During that time, he’s coached teams with varying situations, including Ball State, Army, and North Carolina. He also has experience as a head coach, having led the Siena Saints from 2000-2003.

Another key reason why Bateman is choosing to coach from the press box, he says, is his trust in the assistants around him to communicate the message.

“I like it better up there calling the game, and you can see it a little bit better,” Bateman said. “Especially with…like, I’m very confident in our staff, the ability to communicate and drive what we believe in as our standard of excellence on defense on the sideline.”

Jay Bateman and Mike Elko have a relationship in coaching that goes back decades now. In 2004, the two worked together on the defensive staff of the Richmond Spiders. This is the first time they’ve worked together since then, but their relationship is still something that is going to help in running the defense at Texas A&M.

“My relationship with Mike and how we built this thing, we’ve been very similar for a long time,” Bateman said. “So, a lot of it’s just the terminology, but a lot of the same thought processes are there. I think it’s been really cool. It’s been great.” 

Defense should be a strength moving forward for Texas A&M. That’s the background of head coach Mike Elko, who spent four seasons as the Aggies’ defensive coordinator. However, working well with Bateman is also going to be vital to that moving forward.