This is What Made Mike Elko "Fall In Love" With Texas A&M

Before the 2018 season kicked off for then-head coach Jimbo Fisher and the Texas A&M Aggies, the program announced that it would be hiring Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive coordinator Mike Elko to cover the same duties for the Aggies.

And from there, a relationship was born. Not just between the two head coaches, but between the new defensive coordinator's entire family and the city of College Station.

A relationship that was built so deep, it led to that same defensive coordinator coming back after two years to take Fisher's spot after his termination in 2023.

What Made the Elko Family Love College Station?

Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko reacts on the sideline during the second quarter against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Kyle Field. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

In an interview while he was attending the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, Elko spoke on how much he and his family "fell in love" with College Station when they first moved down to Brazos County in 2018.

"We fell in love with Texas A&M in 2018," Elko said. "The pageantry, the passion, the fanbase, the community, all of it just struck home with us. It was a place that became really special to me and my family. We loved College Station."

Elko continued by talking on the family's move up to Duke when the coach was hired to become the Blue Devils' head coach, the uncertainty on if they'd ever make it back to Aggieland, and the impact it's had on them when they did finally make it back down to the Bryan-College Station area.

"When we left for the opportunity to get to go to Duke, we honestly didn't know if we would ever get a chance to come back," the head coach said. "To not only come back, but to solidify the future and know that the people at this university believe in you to be the leader of this football program for the foreseeable future, that obviously means a lot."

Elko and his family's love for the town has certainly translated over to the Texas A&M football program, especially this past season that saw the team win its first 11 games of the season while trying to shut down the phenomenon of "Battered Aggie Syndrome."

The season was highlighted by massive road wins over Notre Dame and the LSU Tigers and also saw the team's largest comeback ever against the South Carolina Gamecocks, but the Maroon and White would endure another short collapse at the tail end of November, suffering their first loss in the regular season finale against the Texas Longhorns and later the first round of the College Football Playoff to the Miami Hurricanes.

Eager to help return Texas A&M to the 12-team field, Elko's third season as head coach of the Aggies begins at Kyle Field on September 5 against the Missouri State Bears.