Former Duke football coach Mike Elko might lead the Texas A&M program now, but he hasn’t forgotten about his two-year stint with the Blue Devils.
During his availability at SEC Media Days on Thursday, Elko took the time to thank Duke athletic director Nina King for giving him his first chance at the helm of a program.
“Nina King gave me my opportunity to be a head football coach,” Elko said. “So I’m grateful for her and everything that she did for me there.”
He also praised his Duke roster from the 2023 season, a team that won nine games, and thanked his predecessor for playing a role in that success.
“We had tremendous football players in that program, maybe more so than people wanted to give us credit for,” Elko said. “A lot of that was development, but a lot of that was thanks to David Cutcliffe and the job he did before we got there.”
Cutcliffe coached the Blue Devils from 2008-21, a 14-year partnership that bore 77 wins, the third-most in program history.
Full circle moment for me: New Aggies HC Mike Elko thanks Duke AD Nina King for giving him the chance to be a head coach at SEC Media Days.
He also thanked former HC David David Cutcliffe for the talent he recruited that helped Elko win there. pic.twitter.com/rWR4KRn2W9
— Sasha Richie (@sashabella_r) July 18, 2024
Duke finished the past two seasons with a combined record of 17-9, the school’s most successful two-year span since 2014-15.