The fall, the absolute meltdown, is as painful as it is predictable.
From adamant it’s not the same Texas A&M in 2025, to defiant in the face of criticism midway through 2026, to pleading Saturday night when the inevitable arrives.
From the College Football Playoff, to the most disappointing team in college football — in 11 long, deflating months.
Welcome back to irrelevancy, Texas A&M.
“An utter apology with everything I have to everyone who supports this program,” Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said after an embarrassing 15-point home loss to Tennessee. “You deserve so much better."
Make no mistake, this is Elko’s fault. Made every right move in 2025, made every wrong move since.
From hiring Holmon Wiggins to replace Collin Klein as offensive coordinator,
to blaming the most rabid, loyal group of Aggies fans for being rabid and loyal.
From staying too long with struggling quarterback Marcel Reed, to denying Reed is the problem of an offense that was last in the SEC in scoring (16 ppg.) entering the Tennessee game. Then scored seven lousy points.
In the past 10 games vs. Power conference competition dating to last season, Reed has five touchdown passes and 13 interceptions. The Aggies are 2-8 in those games.
To understand the depth of Elko’s poor decisions since the end of last season, you have to look at specific personnel moves since Texas A&M’s loss to Miami in the first round of the CFP.
The Aggies scored three points against the Canes, three weeks after scoring 17 in a 10-point loss to rival Texas. Texas A&M won its first 11 games in 2025, on the back of the easiest conference schedule in the SEC.
The Texas game was the first game played by the Aggies against the top eight of the 16-team league. And they were embarrassed.
Five days before the Miami game, Elko made his first poor decision, naming Wiggins — who had never been an offensive coordinator — to run the offense after Klein left to accept the head coaching job at Kansas State.
Then came the Miami game, and the offense was worse — even with Klein calling the plays before he left for KSU. Reed had no touchdown passes and four interceptions in the final two games of 2025, and Elko responded by making his second tenure-defining decision.
He didn’t look for a quarterback in the transfer portal. Even if just as a backstop in case Reed were injured, much less if Reed’s struggles continued into 2026.
Which is exactly what happened.
So Reed is playing poorly, and Wiggins is a first-time coordinator/play caller and the next thing you know, Texas A&M (4-6, 1-6) can’t string together first downs. Can’t score points. Can’t win games against a significantly stronger schedule.
That’s how you get Elko confronting criticism earlier this year, and trying to embarrass fan site TexAgs. That’s how you get Elko, less than a month later, standing at podium and begging for his job.
Because that’s what he was doing. He knows where this thing is headed, knows the deep pockets of Texas A&M boosters and knows their oil money can buy the program out of any mistake.
Or in this case, two big mistakes that changed the course of a coaching tenure.
“It’s a completely non-functional offense, and that’s on me,” Elko said. “It’s my fault. I own it. Come after me."
That may just be the next move in College Station. That or double down and wait for the next two Elko moves.
There's too much money spent on the roster at Texas A&M to have these kind of results. Too much investment from Kevin Sumlin to Jimbo Fisher to Elko, to think this failure won't be addressed just like the others.
A month ago, Elko was talking and insulting TexAgs with the bravado of a man who signed a fat contract extension in February. After yet another SEC loss, and another example of just how far behind the Aggies are from the rest of the league, he was begging like a man who knew the end is around the bend.
"Give me a chance," Elko said, "And we’ll get this fixed.”
Welcome back to irrelevancy, Texas A&M.
Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB. Listen to him daily, from 12-2 p.m., on 1010XL-Jacksonville.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mike Elko talked tough. Now Texas A&M is irrelevant and he’s begging for time
