Elko delivering a 'powerful message' to the THSCA Board of Directors

To borrow a phrase often heard around College Station, Texas A&M’s relations with Texas high school football coaches “ain’t like it used to be.”

At least, that’s the impression A&M head coach Mike Elko made last week at a meeting of the Texas High School Coaches Association Board of Directors.

Elko — who was named A&M’s head football coach last month — along with A&M’s Director of Athletics Ross Bjork attended the meeting last Tuesday. Their presence was appreciated. Elko’s message was applauded.

“He delivered a powerful message,” said THSCA President Kendall Miller, who is also the head coach at Emerson High School in Frisco. “He’s aware of expectations and possibilities of that job. I think he left everyone in the room with a positive opinion. That’s different than it was from the previous hire.”

Jimbo Fisher, Elko’s predecessor at A&M, seemingly had a strained relationship with the state’s coaches. Last summer, he even skipped an appearance at Coaching School, the state coaching convention. Head coaches of the state’s top collegiate programs traditionally attend the event. Out-of-state coaches do, too. Alabama’s Nick Saban spoke at it in 2022.

R.C. Slocum, who has posted more wins than any football coach in A&M history, said a relationship with the state’s high school coaches is vital.

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Slocum owned a 123-47-2 record at the helm of the Aggies football program for 14 seasons from 1989-2002.

“High school coaches in Texas over the years have had guys play everywhere and in the NFL. They know what a good player is,” Slocum said. “They can give you good information about a kid, his character, his family. That way you can make better choices.”

Slocum recalled getting a telephone call from a coach when he was looking at a quarterback in East Texas, who wasn’t highly recruited.

“I said, ‘I respect you, and I’ll look at the tape.’ What I saw was a guy who clearly was not a (collegiate) quarterback, but was clearly athletic,” Slocum said. “I called him up and said, ‘I want to see you myself.’”

That player, Terrence Murphy, was a two-time All-Big 12 selection. He left A&M as the career leader in receptions and receiving yardage.

Slocum always had a former Texas high school coach on his staff. He also made sure to attend Coaching School and various coaching clinics around the state to foster relationships. He held clinics and invited coaches to spring practice.

“I was doing everything I could,” he said. “I felt I had an obligation. If I was going to go in a coach’s office to take his time and interrupt his day to talk about his players, then I would make sure to make him feel welcome.”

Some coaches didn’t feel there was a strong relationship with Fisher, but indicated one is developing with Elko.

“(Elko) made an effort to make contact with school coaches in this state. That’s important,” Miller said. “There is nothing that rivals high school football in this state because of the structure and the influences coaches have and the players have.

“That was ignored and even slighted by coach Fisher. It was an immediate turnoff with high school coaches. Fisher tried to do things the way they did in Florida. That’s a completely different makeup.

“Elko is aware of the influence of high school coaches. He made that effort to have that bond, and we respect that.”

Dickinson coach John Snelson was at the Board of Directors meeting. His reaction was pro-Elko, but he stressed it wasn’t anti-Fisher.

“Jimbo was very, very good to us down here,” Snelson said. “Obviously, his missing a couple of big speaking engagements might have hurt some feelings. Everybody’s got an opinion. I’m not going to jump on the ‘bash the coach’ train.

“But I took it as a huge feather in (Elko’s) cap to take time out of their day to come up and visit with us.”

Glen West, assistant director of the THSCA, suggested that Elko’s visit meant even more.

“Mike Elko has turned our relationship with Texas A&M around 180 degrees in the few weeks he’s been there,” he said. “The thing was on its head, and he flipped it. He showed up to our office by himself — no driver, no entourage — shook our hands and said, ‘I’m Mike. I’m here to help.’ It was refreshing to see and hear and something I really respected.”

Whether Elko’s move translates to more victories at A&M will be seen.

However, it should be noted that former Texas head coach Mack Brown always made a high priority on his relationship with the state’s high school coaches. He routinely posted 10-win seasons and led the Longhorns to a national championship.

In contrast, former Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema in 2015 famously insulted Texas high school coaches’ style of play.

Soon afterward, he struggled to recruit in Texas. He eventually was fired for going 29-34 in five seasons.

Which coach will Elko emulate? Obviously, that can only be revealed over the next three or four football seasons.

But high school coaches feel like Elko is on the right track.

“I was impressed by his presentation,” said one meeting attendee who asked to remain anonymous. “Everybody in the room realized how much he has going on, but to take the time to show respect for the high school coaches meant a lot.

“It was a breath of fresh air.”