Former Arkansas DC Travis Williams 'expected to join' Mike Elko's staff at Texas A&M

Former Arkansas defensive coordinator Travis Williams is heading back to the SEC. He’s expected to join the staff at Texas A&M, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel. He’s slated to be the linebackers coach, as well as potentially another title the staff.

On3’s Pete Nakos confirmed the report. Williams was let go this past season amid the firing of head coach Sam Pittman. The school named Bobby Petrino the interim head coach as the Razorbacks went into Week 6 at 2-3 following a 56-13 home loss to Notre Dame.

Williams began his coaching career in 2009 at Auburn, where he spent three seasons as a grad assistant. He then became the linebacker’s coach at Northern Iowa in 2012.

Following that season, Williams went on to coach Creekside High School in Georgia as the defensive coordinator. After just one year, he returned to Auburn as a defensive analyst for two years before transitioning to linebackers.

In 2019, Williams was named Auburn’s co-defensive coordinator and linebacker’s coach for three seasons. In 2021, he reunited with former Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn at UCF as the team’s defensive coordinator for two seasons.

After that, he was hired by Pittman at Arkansas where he spent the last seasons. Williams had a solid playing career too.

An Auburn linebacker, Williams was twice named to Second-Team All-SEC in 2004 and ’05 and was a member of Auburn’s All-Decade Team. Williams played one season in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons in 2007 before transitioning to coaching.

More on Texas A&M, coaching changes

Additionally, Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko announced Monday that wide receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator Holmon Wiggins will be elevated to the program’s full-time offensive coordinator position, per Billy Liucci of TexAgs.com..

The move comes after current offensive coordinator Collin Klein accepted the head coaching job at Kansas State. That forced the Aggies to make a key decision about the future of their offense entering the 2026 season. Elko stated that Texas A&M evaluated several options before ultimately deciding continuity was the best path forward.

He revealed the Aggies spoke with five external candidates during the process. In the end, Wiggins was the only coach to receive an official offer. That decision underscores the trust Elko has in Wiggins. He’s been part of the program since Elko’s arrival, and has played a significant role in shaping the offensive vision behind the scenes.