Jimbo Fisher was able to steal Notre Dame defensive coordinator Mike Elko, who had been wildly successful as a defensive coach to that point, from the Irish as the first splash hire for the new era of Texas A&M football.
Everyone knew the Aggies needed help on the defensive side of the ball. Despite Kevin Sumlin hiring John Chavis away from LSU, where he had elite defenses for years, Texas A&M struggled on that side of the ball for most of Sumlin’s tenure. They finished 78th in yards allowed and 87th in points allowed in 2017.