A couple weeks ago, we got to see the Texas A&M Aggies pull off one of the most emphatic victories of the college football season, and one of the most impressive comebacks in SEC history. After trailing 30-3 at halftime versus South Carolina, Mike Elko and company stormed back in the second half to squeak out a 31-30 win.
After this shocking come-from-behind victory, the main beneficiary in terms of the media was undoubtably head coach, Mike Elko. Many analysts and personalities alike started to compare a coaching performance of this caliber to the sustained success Nick Saban was able to find at Alabama.
According to TexAgsLive on X, reporter Alyssa Lang first got this comparison in the headlines, stating "Mike Elko gives me shades of what it was like to watch Nick Saban." Now, at first glance, this comparison seems outlandish. Saban's resume reaches far beyond what Mike Elko has accomplished to this point, but by digging deeper, we see that this comparison holds a lot more weight than our first impression of it.
It's not the tangibles that have given Mike Elko these Nick Saban comparisons; there's not many head football coaches, if any, that will ever reach the pinnacle of what Saban has achieved. But it's the intangibles, the things that can't be taught, that make this comparison a lot more understandable.
For starters, Mike Elko's demeanor is scarily similar to how Nick Saban carried himself: calm and collected, but a fiery presence when his standard isn't being met. Mike Elko carries himself with a quiet confidence similar to the character that we've come to associate with Nick Saban, and while their resumes couldn't be more of a contrast, the fact that these comparisons are being drawn shows that his confidence has resonated heavily with the fanbase.
Similar to Saban as well, Mike Elko will never be in your face about his success; that's just not the type of guy he is, and that was never the type of guy that Saban was either. While these coaches have never been the loudest, they never shy away from saying what needs to be said either.
As fans of college football, we constantly see the legacy that Nick Saban has left on the sport. From the championships of course, but it was his speeches that really gave fans a human aspect of Saban that isn't felt from a lot of these other coaches. Players and fans alike see how bought in Elko is to the Texas A&M program, and this has allowed his human aspect to be shown in the same way that Saban's did.
So, while Mike Elko obviously has work to do if he wishes to reach Saban status in terms of the tangibles, he already possesses all of the intangible traits that turn an ordinary coach into a hometown hero. And the greatest thing about Mike Elko and his character is that no matter how this season ends, championship or heartbreak, the motive going into next season will stay the same, because Mike Elko has always held this mentality that there is always something greater to work up towards.
More NFL news:
- Jaxson Dart has a 50% head injury problem
- ACL recovery timeline impacts when Patrick Mahomes, Micah Parsons will return
- The Packers had a chance to sign an all-time great for $5 million and passed
- Tua Tagovailoa's contract looks like a nightmare
- Bills may not win the AFC East — but they sent a clear warning to the rest of the NFL
- We now know what the Colts are paying Philip Rivers