Mike Elko Already Being Pushed As Candidate to Replace James Franklin at Penn State

The college football world was set ablaze on Sunday when the Penn State Nittany Lions fired head coach James Franklin in the midst of a three-game losing streak.

The Nittany Lions had begun the season as a consensus top-5 team, but after falling to Oregon in overtime, they dropped back-to-back games against UCLA and Northwestern - both of which they were favored to beat by 20 points or more.

Now they begin their search in hopes of replacing Franklin. And unfortunately for the psyche of Texas A&M Aggies fans, Mike Elko's name is already being pushed amongst the most popular candidates for the job.

Elko a Popular Choice

Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko looks on prior to the game against the Florida Gators | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

It all started with SleeperCFB, an offshoot of the Sleeper Sports App, putting Elko's name into the hat, citing his East Coast background, success in recruiting in that area, his roots as a player in Pennsylvania, and his fit to the culture in Happy Valley.

Keep an eye on Mike Elko for the Penn State job

- East Coast Background (New Jersey)
- Has had success recruiting on the East Coast
- Played College Ball at Penn
- Fits the culture pic.twitter.com/NwapD6ckIk
— SleeperCFB (@SleeperCFB) October 12, 2025

Then, Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde chimed in, saying that if the Lions' top two candidates - Indiana's Curt Cignetti and Nebraska's Matt Rhule - both pass on the job, Elko could be next in line for the position thanks to his connection to Penn State's Athletic Director, Pat Kraft.

"If Kraft’s search goes past (Cignetti and Rhule), does he knock on the door of Mike Elko? Kraft made a run at him at Temple when he was the AD there and Elko was a coordinator," Forde said. "Elko’s record as a head coach is a sterling 30–14 in two seasons at Duke and one and a half at Texas A&M, including a 6–0 start this year. He might not leave the Aggies for the Nittany Lions, but it’s still easier to win in the Big Ten than the SEC."

Of course, it's hard to imagine Cignetti, who comparatively is at a program with a much lower ceiling than Penn State in almost every respect, would pass on the job. The same is true to a bit of a lesser extent with Rhule, who has made Nebraska into a relevant program once again.

But if they do? Elko absolutely deserves to be in consideration for the tremendous job he has done in turning around a toxic Texas A&M program that was left in the gutter by Jimbo Fisher.

However, it didn't stop there. USA Today also jumped on the Elko to Penn State train, arguing that Elko's path to championships and College Football Playoffs would be much easier in the Big Ten. Imagine that...

"Elko already has an elite Power Four job at Texas A&M, where he’s steadily developing a team and program capable of winning an SEC title and a national championship," USA Today said. "But there’s a definite argument for PSU having a clearer and easier path to the playoff and an opening-round bye than at A&M, which would make the Aggies’ second-year coach at least listen to the Nittany Lions’ offer."

That is, in fact, a true statement from USA Today. The Big Ten is far behind the SEC in terms of depth and overall strength from top to bottom, which does make the road easier.

Unfortunately for Penn State, if they do decide Elko is the guy they want, its going to be extremely, dare we say impossible to lure him away from Aggieland.

Elko Would Be Crazy to Leave College Station

Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko celebrates after the game against Notre Dame Fighting Irish | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Outside of the fact that Penn State is an easier place to win in terms of conference strength, there is almost nothing that Elko could gain - outside of a major pay raise - that would justify him leaving College Station for Happy Valley.

He is recruiting at an elite level in the most talent-rich state in the country in Texas, has navigated the transfer portal extremely well, and has his roster stocked with elite talent at nearly every position.

Texas A&M also has every resource he could possibly need, from NIL to booster money to anything else you could think of under the sun in terms of those resources at his disposal.

On top of that, Elko is already creating a legacy in Aggieland that would be hard to top anywhere else.

Elko Already One of A&M's Best?

In just a matter of 19 games, it could be argued that Elko has already cemented himself as the best Aggies coach since R.C. Slocum.

Crazy to think about right? But the stats bare it out.

In his first season and a half, Elko has gone 14-5 overall and 8-3 in the SEC. He has become the first Texas A&M coach to start 3-0 in back-to-back seasons in SEC play. He already has three wins over top-10 teams under his belt - something that took Jimbo Fisher and Kevin Sumlin three seasons (or more in Fisher's case) to accomplish.

He also managed a top-10 recruiting class in his first full cycle as coach, and is currently trending to finish with another top-5 class in 2026.

He also managed to turn around a program that was left in a toxic state of disarray in almost every respect after Fisher was fired. He fixed the culture, the intensity, the recruiting, and the vision.

He has given Aggie fans reason to have hope in the program instead of continuing to perpetually suffer from the famed 'Battered Aggie Syndrome.' That's an accomplishment that cannot be measured in statistics or money.

But perhaps most importantly, he knows what it means to be an Aggie and has a commitment to build something special in Aggieland for the fans.

"Thank you," Elko said Saturday after beating Florida. "And I said this in the press conference when I got hired. I've said this after every game that we haven't gotten it done for them in Kyle Field. We are a million percent committed to building them the program that they deserve."

"They're the most passionate fan base in the country. They're the best fan base in the country. They show up and support us week in and week out," Elko said. "And there's not anybody in this building who doesn't sincerely appreciate that or feel that we owe them when we go out there and play and play at a level that befits that support."

That's something Fisher and Sumlin could never figure out, and it makes it seem as though Elko has the potential to be the next long-term answer, ala R.C. Slocum.