After an eventful search, the dust has finally settled and head coach Jimbo Fisher is just a special teams coach away from completing his coaching staff. Here’s a look at who has filled the critical positions so far.
Jimbo Fisher, Head Coach
By now you might have heard his names a few times. Jimbo Fisher is a top-tier collegiate football coach with a resume to back it up. Fisher comes to A&M after an eight year tenure at Florida St. where he won a National Championship in 2013. At Florida St., Fisher compiled an overall record of 83-23, and averaged more than 10 wins per season.
A former quarterback himself, Jimbo Fisher is widely respected for his ability to develop quarterbacks, as seen in the fact that three of his quarterbacks at Florida St. were drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft. Fisher utilizes a pro-style offense, most notably using tight ends in the passing games, which was rarely seen in the Kevin Sumlin era.
Darrell Dickey, Offensive Coordinator
Dickey started his career as a graduate assistant at Texas A&M in 1985. After multiple stops, Dickey has made his way back to Aggieland and joined the Texas A&M staff following a six year tenure at his most recent stop, Memphis. No stranger to putting large amounts of points on the board, Dickey has become well-respected for his prolific up-tempo offenses.
In 2017 Dickey’s Memphis squad averaged 47.7 points per game (bowl game not included) and ranked second in the nation. Dickey comes to A&M with SEC experience, as he has previously been the tight ends coach at LSU and the quarterbacks and running backs coach at Mississippi St. Like Fisher, Dickey is known for his ability to develop quarterbacks, most notably Paxton Lynch and Riley Ferguson at Memphis. Dickey is also a strong recruiter, especially in Texas.
Mike Elko, Defensive Coordinator
After much anticipation from Aggie fans, the maroon and white got their guy. Mike Elko joins the A&M staff after stints at Bowling Green, Wake Forest and Notre Dame. Elko spent just one season at Notre Dame, but in that 2017 season he ranked in the top half nationally in all four major categories leading the Fighting Irish to a Citrus Bowl win. After the season, Elko was named a semifinalist for the Broyles Award, given out to the top assistant in college football. Elko is known for taking risks and developing schemes that best fit his players’ strengths.
Tim Brewster, Tight Ends/ Recruiting Coordinator
After working under Fisher at Florida St., Brewster followed Jimbo to Texas A&M. Brewster boasts a resume of 30-plus years in coaching and has coached at the collegiate and NFL levels. Brewster is known for being one of the top recruiters in the nation. In his five-year tenure at FSU, Brewster’s recruiting classes ranked in the Top 10 of ESPN’s recruiting rankings in all five years. Brewster also has a keen ability to develop tight end talent and has sent many of his tight ends to the NFL Draft.
Dameyune Craig, Wide Receivers
Dameyune Craig comes to College Station after serving as an offensive analyst on Jimbo Fisher’s 2017 staff. Prior to that, Craig served at LSU, Auburn and Florida St. as a recruiting coordinator. A former star quarterback himself, Craig is known for his ability to develop quarterbacks and receivers. Craig has been recognized as an elite recruiter, including accolades from 247sports.com, who named him the nation’s No. 4 best recruiter in 2016. As recruiting coordinator at Florida St., Craig helped land the No. 1 and No. 2 recruiting classes in 2011-2012 and landed Heisman trophy winner Jameis Winston.
Jay Graham, Running Backs
Jay Graham assumes his new role as running backs coach after serving five years under Fisher in the same role. During his time in Tallahassee, Graham was on part of a staff that won the 2013 National Championship and two ACC Championships. Additionally, Craig coached NFL running backs Dalvin Cook, Devonta Freeman, James Wilder Jr. and Karlos Williams. Graham also coaches special teams at Florida St. and coached placekicker Roberto Aguayo, who is currently in the NFL. As a player, Graham was an electric running back at the University of Tennessee before he was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens and spent six years in the NFL.
Maurice Linguist, Defensive Backs
Maurice Linguist joins Jimbo Fisher’s staff after one season as the Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Backs coach at Minnesota. In that one season, the Gophers ranked third in the Big Ten in passing defense and pass efficiency defense. Linguist is known as an elite recruiter and has Texas ties. Linguist is also known for being an extremely high-energy coach. Prior to his stint at Minnesota, he worked at Buffalo and Iowa St. before gaining some SEC experience at Mississippi St.
Editors note: Jim Turner and Terry Price were retained by Jimbo Fisher’s staff but were also apart of Kevin Sumlin’s staff.