Mike Elko leaving Duke for Texas A&M

Mike Elko is leaving Duke after two seasons to return to Texas A&M, a source confirmed to Devils Illustrated on Monday morning.

Elko was offered the position Sunday, giving the two-year Blue Devils coach a chance to return to his previous stop, where he was the Aggies’ defensive coordinator for four seasons.

It also comes on the heels of a whirlwind search at Texas A&M. On Saturday night, multiple outlets reported that Kentucky coach Mark Stoops had agreed to the gig; after a couple of hours, those reports were nixed and Stoops reaffirmed his status at Kentucky.

That brought Texas A&M’s search to a familiar name in Elko.

Texas A&M fired Jimbo Fisher earlier this month. He was in his sixth season with the Aggies and had a fully guaranteed deal, meaning he got a record $76 million buyout.

Texas A&M athletics director Ross Bjork said in the wake of Fisher’s firing that the next coach would not get a similar contract, and that it would be an incentive-laden deal.

Elko was 16-9 in two seasons at Duke after taking over for David Cutcliffe in Dec. 2021.

Duke’s 30-19 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday closed the book on a 7-5 regular season, with Duke bowl-eligible for the second straight year. Elko was ACC coach of the year last season when Duke was 9-4 with a Military Bowl win, having undergone a quick turnaround from a combined 5-18 in 2020-21.

The next hire will be the second football coach for athletics director Nina King, who took over after Kevin White retired in May of 2021.