After eight weeks of college football, it’s clear that Mike Elko is the most sought-after coach in the SEC. The Aggies are one of only five programs in the Power Five that have yet to take a single L this season. When you’re 7-0 (4-0 in the SEC) and undefeated in conference play, obviously, someone’s going to come around with the bag. With Penn State fresh off firing James Franklin, Mike Elko’s name is right at the top of their list, especially after Indiana locked down Curt Cignetti with a massive offer.

Now, Aggieland feels like Mike Elko might just pull a “Duke move” again. Mike Elko thinks the whole college football coaching rumor mill about Penn State job is kind of unusual. On October 20, when reporters asked the Texas A&M coach about rumors linking him to the open Penn State job, he clarified how he dealt with it and then cracked a pretty funny joke about the situation.

“I don’t discuss it with my players,” said Elko. “I think it’s absolutely hilarious how you guys cover coaches. I think three weeks ago, I was getting fired. Now I’m getting hired. Now you don’t want me to stay but I’m leaving. It’s absolutely hilarious. It is a waste of brain space to spend any time talking or thinking about any of that stupidity.” Mike Elko’s reaction definitely stood out for the wrong reasons.

At 48, he’s proven himself as one of the more sought-after coaches in college football, especially after turning things around at Texas A&M from joke of a team to one of the best in the nation. His background makes the Penn State rumors easy to believe – he’s from New Jersey and played at Penn, so there’s already a natural connection there.

The Aggie fans can’t help but feel a little uneasy. Elko has a habit of keeping things quiet when other schools come calling, fears that Mike Elko will do what he did to Duke football. Mike Elko’s exit from Duke for Texas A&M was a pretty shady move. After pledging allegiance to Duke, he took off in the middle of the night without informing his players in person, leaving them to find out from the news. He only had a super brief five-minute video call with the team later on, which came off as really disrespectful to a lot of the guys.

Obviously, his players reacted coldly to the decision. Riley Leonard and company transferred to another program after learning of Elko’s departure. Many of them jumped on social media with memes and comments showing how frustrated they were with the way he left them high and dry. Now, Aggieland feels like they’re the ones who could end up high and dry.

From Aggieland to Happy Valley? Fans mumble about Mike Elko move

When Texas A&M insider Travis Brown dropped the tweet about Mike Elko’s response, fans on the internet immediately jumped onto X and called for “ghosting awareness.”

Fans started with, “Mike Elko, who was apparently fired three weeks ago, won at Notre Dame four weeks ago. What followed was well-deserved, universal praise from every media outlet. Also, the same guy who said he was staying at Duke and left a couple of weeks later.” This fan appreciated Mike Elko’s journey, but his betrayal of Duke football still lingers in people’s minds.

College football analyst Brad Crawford didn’t hold back either, calling out Elko’s hypocrisy: “Mike Elko, same guy who told his Duke players he was leaving for Texas A&M over a Zoom call two weeks after publicly pledging allegiance to the Blue Devils. ‘It’s a profession where people just like to put stuff out there. I’m very committed to (Duke). Everybody knows I’m very happy at this place.’” Elko gave a heartfelt speech about how Durham felt like home—only to quietly pack his bags and received a hefty $7 million paycheck.

What really fueled fan anxiety, though, was that Elko didn’t deny the Penn State rumors during his latest press conference. One fan nailed it with: “Narrator: That is not a denial, Ags.” Instead of shutting the rumor down, Elko danced around the question and brought up “three-week-old stories.” That didn’t help.

Another fan believes it’s only a matter of time before he leaves: “In other words, yes… I’ll be the next coach at Penn State.” Honestly, the pattern backs it up. Elko coached at Duke for two seasons, went 16–9, and won ACC Coach of the Year. Later, he left right after hitting the two-year mark. Now he’s in Year 2 at A&M, with a better record and sitting at 15–5. Go figure!

One last fan summed up the fear in College Station: “Notice how he deflected instead of denying it.” The idea of Mike Elko not firmly committing to A&M didn’t sit right with anyone in Aggieland. Given his history, it might just be a matter of time before he packs up again.