Mike Elko reveals how much consideration he gave to taking other jobs over Texas A&M extension

The Texas A&M Aggies are having one of the best regular seasons in the modern history of the program. Unsurprisingly, head coach Mike Elko heard his name come up in relation to other jobs amid that success. However, by recently signing a contract extension, he was able to cement himself and quiet any rumors that could become distractions.

Recently, Elko opened up about that extension and what went into it. In particular, he emphasized that once he had the commitment he wanted for the program, the two sides came together pretty quickly for a contract extension.

“Yeah, I’ve said this before,” Mike Elko said. “It’s how we run our program. I want to value people because I believe they do a good job and I believe in what they’re doing. That was the message to our administration was like I don’t want to have to come to you and say, this school — I don’t do that. That’s not who I am. That’s not how I want to be. If you believe in this program and you believe in what we’re doing, this is what we believe that belief should look like.”

The extension for Elko was initially reported last Saturday, the same day as the South Carolina game. While the school did not initially announce his salary with the extension, On3’s Pete Nakos reported that it is expected to be more than $10 million annually and it will be for six years. That’s up from the $7 million annually he had been getting paid under his initial contract with Texas A&M.

If those negotiations had been some kind of distraction, it only lasted a half. On Saturday, Texas A&M would stay unbeaten with a remarkable second half comeback to beat South Carolina despite trailing 30-3 at the half.

“And I think everybody just kind of agreed. I don’t think there was much back and forth. Once we knew the university and the athletic department were willing to commit to the program the way they were,” Elko said. “We were never going anywhere.”

Mike Elko has been the head coach at Texas A&M since 2024. It’s his second time coaching at the program, previously being the defensive coordinator in Aggieland under Jimbo Fisher. He had parlayed that into his first head coaching job at Duke, where he quickly rebuilt that program.

At Texas A&M, Elko inherited a team from his former boss that was coming off a 7-6 season. He has since quickly turned the program around, going 8-5 in his first season with the program, though that includes four losses in the last five games that saw a once promising season spiral. Now, he has the 2025 team 10-0 and is ranked No. 3 in the College Football Playoff selection committee rankings. The hope is to now finish stronger than a season ago.

Left on the schedule for Texas A&M is FCS Samford. Then, it’s a road trip to Austin to take on the Texas.