Texas A&M coach Mike Elko denied taking a shot at any college football coach -- including his former boss, Jimbo Fisher -- following the Aggies' 38-23 comeback win over LSU on Saturday.
Immediately after the win that lifted the Aggies to 7-1, Elko gave a fiery postgame press conference in which he stated that his program wasn't "fake" and "it's not a politician running this program, talking fast and BS'ing everybody."
"This is a real program," Elko said Saturday night. "It's not fake, it's not a politician running this program, talking fast and BS'ing everybody. This is a real program and for all the recruits out there, this is a real place. And if you want to be really good at football, this is a really good place to be."
Fisher, who was fired last November before completing his sixth season leading the Aggies, is known for speaking very quickly. That led many to assume that Elko's comments were a shot at Fisher.
Elko served as Fisher's defensive coordinator from 2018-21 in College Station before accepting the job at Duke and said Monday that he has "nothing but respect" for Fisher.
"I've said nothing but positive things about Coach Fisher. I'm the head coach at Texas A&M because of Coach Fisher. I appreciate who he is, everything that he's done," Elko said. "And for anybody in the media to think that that was what I was doing post-LSU is asinine. And for it to be about any other head coach who gave me an opportunity and hired me, that's not who I am. I've never been that person. And it's ridiculous, but it is what it is."
Texas A&M is off to a 5-0 start in SEC play for the first time since joining the conference. The last time the Aggies won their first five conference games came in 1998 when the program was a member of the Big 12. Texas A&M is the lone undefeated team remaining in conference play from the SEC.
Texas A&M, now ranked No. 10 in the AP Top 25, faces South Carolina on the road on Saturday.