It's no secret by now that Texas A&M head football coach Mike Elko has changed the landscape of the A&M fanbase, from how they think to how the players on the team act in-game.

In just two seasons with Elko at the helm, the Aggies have gone from middle of the pack in the SEC to one of the conference's finest schools, even securing their first College Football Playoff berth last season after starting 11-0.

Things are definitely trending in an optimistic direction for the team's future, and Elko's reasoning why may ruffle the feathers of those who were heavily supportive of previous Aggie coaches, especially Jimbo Fisher.

"The First Time in a Long Time"

In his appearance alongside host Greg McElroy on Always College Football, Elko spoke on the future progression of the Texas A&M program and gave himself and his coaching staff a pat on the back while simultaneously firing shots at former A&M coaches in a subtle manner.

"I think that maybe for the first time in a long time, there's a coach in here that's building this thing the right way, that's doing this thing internally and building a foundation that's going to allow us to have success," Elko said. "And they're (the coaches) are working tirelessly to lift this program into what we want it to be."

Obviously, Elko doesn't call out Fisher or even Kevin Sumlin by name, but it wouldn't be far-fetched to say that Elko is a firm believer that the way he is running things in Aggieland is working out much better for the team than the two A&M heads before him.

This isn't the first time that the coach has made a comment that many thought was directed at Fisher, such as his "fast-talking politician" remark after defeating LSU at Kyle Field in 2024, which he would later clear up to say that he was not referring to the former national championship winner.

The head coach would go on to reiterate a statement he made when he first got hired as head coach back in late 2023, backing up A&M's claims of wanting to be the best with their performance on the field.

"I said this when I got hired, to get a program to become an elite program like the big brands in this sport, we can't just say that we want it," said Elko. "We actually have to go out and do a lot of things in order to make it happen, and I think through two years, we have put in a lot of work to change so much about the inner workings of this program, the alignment between the university, its donors, and this program to where now it sits in a really, really, good place."

The 12th Man will see just how good that place is when they take on the Missouri State Bears in their season opener in College Station on September 5.

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