Tag: Pete Thamel

BREAKING: Texas A&M hires Trev Alberts from Nebraska as next director of athletics

After Ross Bjork departed Aggieland in January to become the next athletic director at Ohio State, interim AD R.C. Slocum began his search.

After Ross Bjork departed College Station in January to become the next athletic director at The Ohio State University, interim AD R.C. Slocum began searching for Texas A&M‘s next director of athletics.

According to a report on Wednesday morning from Brent Zwerneman, Aggies writer for the Houston Chronicle, Texas A&M chose Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts as its next AD. That report was immediately confirmed by Yahoo Sports college football writer Ross Dellenger.

Sources close to ESPN college football senior writer Pete Thamel said the contract offer is pretty lucrative. The deal is reportedly for five years and would make Alberts not only one of the highest paid ADs in the SEC but also among the top 10 in the nation.

Following Zwerneman’s report, his colleague Greg Rajan shared an entertaining anecdote. Remember when ESPN senior NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper went off on the Indianapolis Colts for passing on quarterback Trent Dilfer in the 1994 draft? Well, the player they drafted was Alberts.

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‘A whirlwind of epic proportion’: Texas A&M football coach Mike Elko chats with ESPN’s Pete Thamel

“I don’t know that you can describe taking a job on the day that the portal window opens, two weeks before signing day with no staff, right?”

Back in 1998, 21-year-old Mike Elko was finishing his playing career as a safety for Penn University of the Ivy League.

That same year, the Texas A&M football team won the Big 12 Championship led by R.C. Slocum. 26 years later, Elko is head coach of the Aggies, Slocum is interim director of athletics and Texas A&M hasn’t won a conference title since.

The Aggies joined the SEC in 2012 and have yet to appear in a conference championship game. In 2020, Texas A&M finished No. 5 in the nation and was left on the outside looking in at the College Football Playoff with Jimbo Fisher at the helm and Elko as defensive coordinator.

Last month, Elko sat down for an extensive Q&A with ESPN college football senior writer & insider Pete Thamel. Junior starting quarterback Conner Weigman, new offensive coordinator & quarterback coach Collin Klein and Notre Dame senior QB Riley Leonard were among the topics of discussion.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Shaun on Twitter: @Shaun_Holkko.

Social media reacts to Jay Bateman being the next Texas A&M defensive coordinator

Texas A&M is set to hire Florida ILB coach as the program’s new defensive coordinator

News broke via TexAgs on Thursday morning that Texas A&M is in the process of hiring Florida’s assistant coach Jay Bateman to be the new defensive coordinator for the Aggies.

After coach Mike Elko mentioned in his press conference on Wednesday that we could expect a hire soon, rumors started to swirl. The name that came up the most was the former Aggie linebacker coach and current Duke defensive coordinator Tyler Santucci.

We know how the internet can be, and the Santucci hate was abundant and unwarranted. Now, with the Bateman, some of the same people are still complaining.

With Elko being a defensive coach, the thought behind the hire really came down to how good of a fit Bateman would be within Elko’s system and the staff. Granted, Bateman has been up and down with his success, but he is known mainly for turning around a struggling Army defense and being named as a 2018 Broyles Award finalist.

It’s not the splash hire fans might have wanted, but Elko seemed more interested in building a grounded staff that can recruit and will jell with the university. But like everything in life, not everyone will agree with everything that someone does, and social media gave us a taste of both sides.

Breaking: Texas A&M is set to hire Jay Bateman as the program’s new defensive coordinator

It has been reported by multiple sources that Texas A&M will bring on former Florida ILB coach Jay Bateman as the program’ new DC.

Texas A&M and head coach Mike Elko are reportedly finalizing a deal to hire Jay Bateman as the program’s new defensive coordinator/linebackers coach after a brief stint at Florida as the Inside linebackers coach. TexAgs’ Billy Liucci first reported the news, which was further confirmed by ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Like several of the Aggies’ new assistants, Elko and Bateman go all the way back to the early 2000s during their time at Richmond as defensive assistants, as the new head coach has smartly brought on familiar faces whom he trusts, as every first-year coaching transition presents a bevy of challenges.

Outside of simply knowing Mike Elko, Jay Bateman is very accomplished in his own right, serving as a defensive coordinator at five programs, including a highly successful stint at Army (2014-2018), where he helped take a once 91st-ranked defense to 8th in the nation during his final season, resulting in being a finalist for the Broyles Award (top assistant coach in college football) in 2018.

Also known as an impressive recruiter during his brief two-year stint at North Carolina as DC/Safeties coach, Batemen helped secure several elite defensive prospects.

Bateman will replace D.J. Durkin, who served as the Aggie’s DC for the last two seasons and follow current A&M defensive line coach Sean Spencer, who also left Florida for the same position earlier this month.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty.

Source: Bobby Petrino has agreed to terms to become Arkansas’ new offensive coordinator

After not being retained under Mike Elko at Texas A&M, Bobby Petrino will reportedly return to Arkansas as the program’s new OC.

With the hiring of new Texas A&M Football head coach Mike Elko, swift changes would begin as soon as Tuesday, as several assistant coaches who served under then-head coach Jimbo Fisher will not be retained under Elko heading into the 2024 season.

After it was announced that Aggies wide receiver/quarterback coach Dameyune Craig would not be retained under Elko, veteran offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino, who was hired just one year ago after then-head coach Jimbo Fisher was pressured to turn over the offensive play-calling duties.

Despite minor improvements, in-season issues mounted, specifically quarterback Conner Weigman’s season-ending injury, which destroyed any consistency coupled with horrendous offensive line play. The fact that Petrino will not remain in College Station is no surprise, given Elko’s need to build the staff his image; Petrino’s future might lead him back to his old stomping grounds, the Arkansas Razorbacks.

According to ESPN insider Pete Thamel, Arkansas and current head coach Sam Pittman are vetting the situation and hiring Petrino for the same postion with the Razorbacks. As of Tuesday afternoon, ESPN’s Chris Low has confirmed that Petrino will, in fact, return to Arkansas as the program’s new offensive coordinator.

In four seasons as Arkansas’s head coach (2008-2011), including several controversial moments, Petrino noted as an offensive guru of his time, led the Razorbacks to a 34-17 overall record, including a Cotton Bowl win after an 11-2 finish in 2011.

With Bobby Petrino’s return to Arkansas, I can only say that the memes will be incredible, and he may save Sam Pittman’s head coaching career.

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Desmond Howard downplaying threats against Pete Thamel is another low point for College GameDay

Mocking a colleague for getting threats is a real bad look

The downward spiral of ESPN’s College GameDay reached a new low on Saturday as the show set up shop in Ann Arbor for Michigan-Ohio State.

ESPN national college football reporter Pete Thamel, who is also a fixture on the weekly show, was forced to do his live shots on the broadcast from inside Michigan Stadium — a departure from his more typical segments surrounded by fans off to the side of the main GameDay set.

The reason for this change, according to GameDay host Rece Davis on the broadcast, was due to threats Thamel has received from Michigan fans due to his reporting on the Wolverine’s sign-stealing scandal.

It goes without saying that threats against any reporter for simply doing their job are extremely abhorrent and there can be no tolerance whatsoever. It appears ESPN erred on the side of caution by placing Thamel far away from the throngs of Michigan fans so he could continue to do his job safely.

GameDay’s Desmond Howard — a Michigan alum — decided to poke fun at the decision to move Thamel’s live shot and mocked his colleague’s supposed cowardice in a truly off-the-rails moment on Saturday.

Davis tried to explain the seriousness of the situation by noting Thamel’s “got, from the lunatic fringe, some threats” only for Howard to wave him off.

“These guys are nice fans,” Howard said gesturing to the crowd. “They’re not going to do anything.”

Davis then wisely reminded Howard it only takes one, but the whole interaction was gross.

It was a microcosm of how far GameDay has fallen. Before Howard could even get his mic turned on to criticize Thamel, Pat McAfee played to a crowd predisposed to dislike Thamel’s work by shouting “Pete Thamel doesn’t want you to talk!”

Even worse, Kirk Herbstreit was audibly agreeing with Howard calling out Thamel for a situation far beyond the reporter’s control.

Instead of supporting Thamel (their coworker!) by trying to calm down the rhetoric and hatred here, the most vocal and visible Ohio State and Michigan alums continued to fan the flames.

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Report: Kentucky HC Mark Stoops is a candidate to take over at Texas A&M

According to multiple sources, Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops has emerged a legitimate candidate during Texas A&M’s head coaching search.

We’ve reached what looks to be the final stages of Texas A&M’s exhaustive search for the program’s next head football coach after the recent firing of now-former head coach Jimbo Fisher.

Throughout the week, credit to TexAgs’ Executive Editor and Co-Owner Billy Liucci, who has continued to drop several “nuggets” regarding potential names Texas A&M Athletic Director Ross Bjork has and will pursue in the coming days.

Earlier this week, Liucci revealed that Ohio State head coach Ryan Day remains a candidate for the position despite being a long shot to leave the Buckeyes, especially if Ohio State were to lose to Michigan on Saturday. Now, after his most recent update, one surprising name has emerged late, as Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops enters the race, which was further confirmed by ESPN CFB insider Pete Thamel and The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman on Saturday morning.

“One name that is expected to emerge in the next 24 hours is Kentucky coach Mark Stoops,” Thamel stated on ESPN’s College GameDay.”He coaches a rivalry game against Louisville (on Saturday), and the next 24 hours will be critical for his candidacy.”

Stoops, who is finishing his 11th year at Kentucky, has compiled a 72-64 record (35-55 SEC) and has taken the Wildcats to seven bowl game appearances, including four wins while recording two 10-win seasons in 2018 and 2021. At the age of 56, Stoops has a proven track record, but after firing Fisher with an enormous $76.8 Million buyout attached, this looks more like a lateral move, if any.

However, Thamel explained that this is just one name out of several contending candidates, including UTSA’s Jeff Traylor, Arizona’s Jedd Fisch, Duke’s Mike Elko, and Utah’s Kyle Whittingham.

“One source cautioned me that things are fractured at Texas A&M,” Thamel stated. “a lot of people put up a lot of money to pay off Jimbo Fisher, so don’t expect this to be a linear search to the finish.”

While Mark Stoops and Ryan Day are the hot-button names of the day, anything can change at the drop of a hat.

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Report: Sources indicate that Texas A&M has fired head coach Jimbo Fisher

According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Texas A&M head football coach Jimbo Fisher has been fired.

As of Sunday, Nov. 12, Texas A&M head football coach Jimbo Fisher has been fired, according to several sources who indicated the news earlier this morning. Associate head coach Elijah Robinson will be promoted as the interim head coach, according to ESPN CFB insider Pete Thamel.

In six seasons at the helm, Fisher finished with a 45-25 overall record and a 27-21 record in SEC play, but outside of the 9-1 finish during the Covid-impacted 2020 season, including a victory in the Orange Bowl. Fisher’s tenure has been woefully underwhelming since, especially when the play on the field failed to match recruiting success in recent seasons.

Coming as a shock to many, TexAgs Co-owner and Executive Editor Billy Liucci was the first break on the story that Fisher may be let go as early as Sunday morning, just days after the Board of Regents met on Thursday, Nov. 9.

Financially, this will cost the program over $76.8 million, as his dense contract is set to expire in 2031, but hey, they knew this all along before the final decision was made.

Texas A&M is fresh off its 51-10 win over Mississippi State less than 24 hours ago. It will now face Abilene Christian next Saturday for yet another early kick-off (11:00 CT.) before taking on LSU on the road in the regular season finale.

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Big Ten coaches reportedly want conference to act on Michigan scandal

This is going to get interesting … #GoBucks

It has been almost two weeks now since hated [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] rival Michigan’s most recent scandal broke.

The sign-stealing allegations look like they are mostly true, with more allegations and evidence coming almost every day. It’s something that has people raising an eyebrow at the Michigan program, along with the Big Ten, but for different reasons.

ESPN’ s [autotag]Pete Thamel[/autotag] reported late Wednesday night that the conferences coaches have “expressed their frustrations with the ongoing signal-stealing investigation at Michigan” during a call with new commissioner [autotag]Tony Petitti[/autotag].

Wolverines head coach [autotag]Jim Harbaugh[/autotag] was on the call, and Thamel noted that he “hung up after the regularly scheduled Big Ten business to allow the conference’s coaches to speak freely about the NCAA’s investigation.”

During that time, it seems as if the coaches were not happy with how Petitti has handled the scandal. Thamel’s source was quoted as saying “collectively, the coaches want the Big Ten to act — right now.”

It does seem extremely odd that the conference nor the university has made a statement on the matter. With Michigan scheduled to play Purdue this weekend, the conference coaches want some clarity on the matter, and soon.

This story isn’t going to die down anytime soon.

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How many wins does the ESPN College GameDay podcast think Rutgers football gets?

ESPN College GameDay debates the Rutgers football win total for this upcoming season.

While he doesn’t sound ready to hop on the Rutgers train, ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel believes that the Scarlet Knights could make a little noise in the Big Ten this season. In fact, Thamel thinks it is entirely possible that Rutgers could exceed their season outlook for wins this season.

The College GameDay podcast, hosted by Rece Davis, dissected the Big Ten this week. Davis noted that the total projections for Rutgers this season stands at four wins. Davis, ever thoughtful and nuanced, didn’t dunk on Rutgers by any stretch but he did take the under on that win total.

Thamel did his homework on Rutgers, noting that offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca’s hiring this offseason should help an offense that was second from the bottom in the Big Ten last season.

“I’m going to take the over on the over on Rutgers. I feel like the presence of Kirk Ciarrocca who Greg Schiano was fired in his first tenure there. Bringing back Kirk gives them baseline functionality, which they just didn’t have last year on offense,” Evans said on the ESPN College GameDay podcast.

“Now whether Gavin Wimsatt becomes a guy who really develops we need to see that pretty quick because it was pretty clear last year that he didn’t. I love Samuel Brown their tailback.”

The defense, however, must be the identity of this team and is clearly ahead of the offense in terms of the overarching development of the roster and the two-deep. Thamel likes the unit, praising defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak while singling out two veteran players on the Scarlet Knights defense as ones to watch in 2023.

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If the defense can be solid, then Rutgers can be competitive and perhaps make a move up the Big Ten standings.

“But I really feel like their defense was pretty strong last year, relatively speaking. You obviously have to throw away some of that when talking about bottom Big Ten teams. You have to throw away some of the Penn State, Michigan-type results,” Thamel said.

“But I feel like they had winnable games, especially in Nebraska where if they just didn’t mess it up, they could have ended up winning the game. And so I feel like Virginia Tech to me is a winnable game for them. I don’t think that’s crazy. Like I just don’t think what anything Virginia Tech has done in the last year makes you think they can roll in and win there. And that’s not a knock on Virginia Tech. They’re just rebuilding and they’ve earned it. Yeah, but I think there’s a better possibility they start 3-0 than 0-3…I would say that., So I’m probably a little more bullish on the Scarlet Knights because when Samuel Brown was healthy last year, their offense was fairly functional.

“The case there is the case the new offense gets them back to functional. I think the defense with Joe Harasymiak and Greg Schiano sort behind it – I feel I feel pretty good about it. So yeah, you know, they just got a lot of guys who played a lot of snaps: Deion Jennings played a lot of snaps there. Tyreem Powell played a lot of snaps there. So I don’t think it’s hard to get to five.”

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