For Mike Elko, building a championship staff at Texas A&M is about looking forward, but his latest hire brings a name that echoes deep in Aggie history. After losing offensive coordinator Collin Klein to Kansas State’s head coaching role, Mike Elko promoted Holmon Wiggins, who was previously co-OC. He kept continuity in the playbook. But with his eyes set on the championship in his third season, Elko is bolstering his offensive brain trust.

As per TexAgs’ Billy Liucci, Mike Elko hired a key piece for the Texas A&M staff, bringing in Drew Hollingshead as an offensive analyst. Entering the offseason, this is the first offensive hire by the Aggies’ head coach.

Drew Hollingshead has a long tie to the Aggies, as his father, Tam Hollingshead, was a longtime Aggie assistant coach. Under R.C. Slocum, Tam worked for nine seasons, primarily as a TE and special teams coach, and he was a crucial part of the 1998 Big 12 title. Following in his father’s footsteps, Drew joined Texas A&M after serving Coastal Carolina and Western Kentucky as the OC.

His offenses were productive at both stops. In 2025, the Chants finished with a 6-7 record as the offense averaged over 300 yards of total offense per game. Then, the Hilltoppers’ offense ranked second in Conference USA, scoring at 30.5 PPG under his watch in his debut season. Now with the Aggies, it’ll be interesting to see how he fares.

But his coaching career got started before his stop at Western Kentucky in 2023. Spending time in Mississippi State and Washington State, Drew Hollingshead sharpened his edge under the late Mike Leach. However, the intriguing part is that even without family ties, Drew has built a connection to Texas soil.

As a Rockwall native, he stayed home to play QB at Houston, and he did it under Kevin Sumlin, with a young Kliff Kingsbury helping shape the offense. Now the former Houston QB is back as an offensive analyst for A&M. He will work with returning WRs like Ashton-Bethel Roman and Mario Craver and QB Marcel Reed to turn the Aggie offense into a more efficient unit.

After one of the most historic seasons in program history, highlighted by their first-ever CFP appearance in 2025, Mike Elko is now eyeing an even higher standard. Elko’s focus on continuity and rewarding internal talent isn’t limited to the offense. He’s applying the same philosophy on the defensive side of the ball, starting with another promotion.

Mike Elko continues to build a title-caliber staff

The Aggies have promoted Bryant Gross-Armiento to cornerbacks coach, and his rise has been steady. Gross-Armiento joined A&M as a defensive analyst in 2021, climbed to secondary coach in 2023, and served as the senior defensive analyst during Mike Elko’s first season in College Station.

However, the connection between these two (Elko and Gross-Armiento) runs deeper. Gross-Armiento played under Mike Elko at Wake Forest when the Aggies’ head coach served as the program’s DC and safeties coach. Later, Gross-Armiento coached there before a brief stop at Georgia. And now he will help the Aggies to improve their CB unit.

In 2025, his influence was clear as the Aggie defense surged from No. 90 nationally in passing yards allowed to No. 16. He replaces Jordan Peterson, who departed for Kansas State. With these changes, it remains to be seen how Mike Elko’s Texas A&M’s 2026 season unfolds.