Paul Finebaum views Elko as A&M's potential barrier-breaker

Key notes from Paul Finebaum interview

• Our producers came up with that segment to have students on our show. It means a lot to hear people telling me that they remember being on an old show of mine.
   
• Saying that a coach is a good fit for a job is one of the oldest cliches in the industry. Brian Kelly was one of the top coaches in college football five years ago. He went to LSU, and it didn't work because he was a bad fit. Jimbo Fischer should have worked at Texas A&M. You thought he could relate to the A&M culture, but in the end, he couldn't. With Mike Elko, no one really knew if he could fit into the A&M mindset, but he is so smart and adaptable that he did. He is the smartest coach in college football. Because of that, you can put him in a spot where the previous coach didn't work out, and Elko did.
   
• Lane Kiffin is the most interesting first-year coach. About 12-13 years ago, I called him the Miley Cyrus of college football. He is successful for being famous, but I'm still not convinced that Kiffin is one of the most talented coaches of his era. He knows how to gain attention, but the ultimate test is right now. He has never had this type of pressure on him before. LSU is a great job, but how he deals with this pressure is going to decide how he does. I think the LSU fan base can turn on a coach really fast, Les Miles, Ed Orgeron and Kelly. If Kiffiin starts badly, they will turn on him.
   
• Other coaches in the SEC are dealing with less pressure. I think Jon Sumrall is the best of the first-year SEC coaches and in the best position in Florida. Will Stein has an easier job because he is at Kentucky, and Ryan Silverfield is at Arkansas. Their goal is just not to embarrass the program. Alex Golesh at Auburn, who hasn't had a winning record in six years. Every situation in the SEC is different.
   
• Elko has done his job really quietly without fanfare, but he does it on the football field. He doesn't overpromise or make declarations during press conferences. It remains the greatest mystery of my career how A&M doesn't have a long list of championships. The fan base is one of the most loyal. The traditions are great, and the infrastructure is wound tight. A&M is getting there, and Elko will break the barrier and win a championship.
   
• Looking at the coaches I’ve covered at A&M, there were ones with potential, but they let it all get away. I think Elko will do it because he never has a moment that is too big for him. If you line up the 16 SEC coaches, he looks like the least likely to be an SEC coach, but that's what I think makes him different.
   
• Marcel Reed just messed up on the little things in the moments that they couldn't afford it. The Texas game is an example of that, and the Miami game as well. There are 15 times that A&M should have won that game, and those are things that are overcomeable. A&M having to go on the road to Alabama is problematic, but getting the biggest game against Texas at home should help out.
   
• I started my career covering Paul Bryant, and it helped adapt me. I was the youngest guy covering Bear Bryant, and when Nick Saban retired, I was the oldest guy. I’ve seen an enormous amount, but what has never changed is the passion for that first Saturday of the season. There is a lot about how college football is now the wild west, but it is not. A&M is a place where the stadium on Saturdays is as crazy as anywhere else. I’d compare a World Cup game to a game at Kyle Field. The sport has gone crazy, but that doesn't change the three-and-a-half hours on Saturday.