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Mike Elko says he’s got nothing but respect for Jimbo Fisher, and you didn’t hear what you thought you heard.
“I appreciate who he is, everything that he’s done,” Elko, the Texas A&M’s first-year coach, said of Fisher on Monday.
Elko, during his regularly scheduled news conference, rebuffed the idea that a comment he made Saturday night after the Aggies’ victory over LSU was directed at Fisher – or anyone else.
Texas A&M (7-1) sits atop the SEC standings, and a reporter asked Elko after beating LSU how he’s generated this warp-speed turnaround as a first-year coach. Elko previously experienced rapid success as Duke’s coach.
While Elko answered that question, he dropped an eyebrow-raising quote.
“We back up our actions,” Elko said Saturday night. “We’re very honest. We’re very open. And this is a real program. It’s not fake. It’s not a politician running this program, talking fast and BS’ing everybody. This is a real program.”
Texas A&M coach Mike Elko, right, greets LSU coach Brian Kelly prior to their game at Kyle Field.
Several reporters in the room Saturday night and some fans who later heard Elko’s comment interpreted his quote as a shot at the fast-talking Fisher, whom the Aggies fired last year amid his sixth season.
Elko emphasized on Monday that his quote was generic and not directed as a barb at anyone, including Fisher.
“I made a statement that seemed like a very benign statement, that somehow managed to be taken as a shot directly at people,” Elko said. “You guys gave me multiple opportunities in nine months to take shots at people, and I’ve never done it.
“For anybody in the media to think that that was what I was doing post-LSU is asinine.”
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Elko worked under Fisher for four…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/texas-m-coach-mike-elko-203631896.html
Author : USA TODAY Sports
Publish date : 2024-10-28 20:36:31
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