Mike Elko calls Collin Klein a 'critical hire' to Texas A&M's success

With just four weeks remaining in the regular season, No. 3 Texas A&M sits atop the SEC with an unblemished 8-0 (5-0) record. If they can land the plane over the final few weeks of the season, the Aggies could be en route to the first College Football Playoff appearance in program history.

The hiring of offensive coordinator Collin Klein has been key to A&M’s extremely strong season. Head coach Mike Elko, who was hired prior to the 2024 season, poached Klein from his alma mater (Kansas State) when he took the job. Over the past two seasons, the Aggies are 16-5 (10-3) overall while averaging 33.2 points per game.

Just how much does Klein mean to Elko? During an appearance on Thursday’s ‘The Pat McAfee Show,‘ Elko called Klein a ‘critical hire’ to the program’s success.

“Obviously, when you’re the defensive-minded guy, that’s a critical hire,” Elko said. “I did a really similar thing when I got to Duke, as I kind of locked myself in a room and studied offenses. I watched what he did at Kansas State and thought he was really calculated in how he attacked people. He did a really good job utilizing his personnel there.

“I sat down and had a talk with him, we actually had breakfast in Colorado. We just really hit it off. Philosophically, we’re very much aligned in how we see things, and obviously, he’s done a tremendous job coordinating that side of the ball and creating an explosive pack every week.”

Klein speaks highly of Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed

Klein, who was a Heisman Trophy finalist quarterback during his playing days at K-State, has been a massive help to A&M quarterback Marcel Reed. Reed has blossomed into one of the best quarterbacks in the country under Klein’s guidance, passing for 1,972 yards, 17 touchdowns and only six interceptions this season.

“I’ve been really proud of him,” Klein said about Reed on Tuesday, via Mark Passwaters of AggieYell. “And even these last three, four, five weeks that he’s kind of put together and really grown in a lot of areas. We’ve been in a very, very multiple-based offense to where we put a lot on his plate and have from the jump, and I think he’s been managing it really well.”

“I think our efficiency has increased the last few weeks, in large part because of his ability to get through progressions, check down the football, be really decisive when, okay, hey, it’s time to pull the ball down and run. And doing so in a very, very aggressive, assertive, timely manner, and has kept us in much, much better positions on third down, has created, obviously, a ton of explosive plays with him running the football and scrambles as well.”

Klein has had his name floated around as a potential hire at one of these schools with a vacancy, so his tenure as A&M’s OC could come to a close sooner rather than later. For now, however, he has undeniably been instrumental in the Aggies’ rise atop the Southeastern Conference.