In 1964 the Beatles released a Lennon-McCartney song entitled Can’t Buy Me Love, which stated in part “I don’t care too much for money. Money can’t buy me love.”
Around the same time they covered the Barrett Strong song Money (That’s What I Want), the title of which should be self-explanatory; Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford wrote it.
Yep, money is a complicated thing. We’re told that the love of money is the root of all evil. But money puts food on the table and keeps the lights on. We’re told that money talks, except for Bob Dylan, who said it swears.
Randy Newman, Pink Floyd, Kander and Ebb in Cabaret, the Brains by way of Cyndi Lauper and so many others have written about money. We need it but we don’t always like getting it.
Which brings us to former Duke football coach Mike Elko, words that I did not think I would be writing, not any time soon, at least. In the words of Steve Mlller--my last rock song reference, I promise--Elko took the money and run [ran].
Or maybe took the money and flew is more accurate.
By all accounts Mike Elko got a pretty sizeable pay bump, at least double, maybe more. Hey, it’s a transactional world and looks like he gamed the system to his considerable advantage.
So, “more power to him” is one logical response.
But it sure looks sloppy from the outside.
Texas A&M is a respected top-50 research university. But they share a big state with a lot of schools. TCU played for the football national championship last season. Baylor won the 2021 men’s basketball NCAA title. Texas Tech makes the Final Four and the College World Series. Houston was in the 2021 Final Four.
Then there’s the University of Texas, the snooty, rich kid that gets whatever it wants.
So, all this oil money and not much to show for it. When they decided to give Jimbo Fisher 76 million dollars to go away, it certainly raised some eyebrows. It’s not like Fisher was implicated in a hazing scandal or a sex sandal or losing games at an alarming rate,
But he was hired to beat Alabama and Georgia and LSU on a regular basis and he wasn’t doing that.
Is that a cautionary tale for Elko?
College football coaches have big egos. They have to. Imagine going into the home of a recruit with dozens of scholarship offers, looking his parents in the eye and trying to convince them that you are uniquely qualified to shepherd their son into adulthood, to make sure they stay safe, get a degree and maximize their football potential.
So, I assume Elko thinks he can crack the code. All that money isn’t just going to him, it’s going to assistant coach salaries, facilities and most of all an NIL program designed to attract and retain the players needed to beat the SEC big boys, which next season will include Texas and Oklahoma.
But. I was the person who asked Elko about the rumors a couple of weeks ago at his weekly Monday presser. He scoffed at the rumors and waxed rhapsodic about Duke, Durham, the football program and everything he was building there. And at every other recent press conference he talked about Duke’s future, the team’s future, building up NIL, getting more fans in the stands, recruiting, you name it.
I assume he meant everything he said. But apparently he was working back channels the whole time. According to several accounts he told the team last week that he was staying. Which made sense since Michigan State was closing in on Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith and A&M was closing in on Kentucky’s Mike Stoops and Elko didn’t have anywhere else to go.
Until he did.
And I don’t think it unreasonable to suggest that he could have made a more graceful exit than a private plane in the middle of the night, without meeting with his soon-to-be former team.
Where does Duke go next?
A visibly tired Nina King briefly addressed the media Monday, without taking questions. She took the high road, thanking Elko for all he did at Duke. She’s already met with the team and is going to ZOOM with the committed recruits and families and then the parents of the current players, with the obvious message of be patient and see what we come up with.
Assistant coach Trooper Taylor was named interim. In the old days that would have meant through the bowl game. But in the world we live in, with NIL and the Transfer Portal and a December signing date, Duke doesn’t have the luxury of waiting that long. They have to make a great hire and they have to make a quick hire and those two imperatives aren’t always in harmony.
How attractive is the job?
Duke is always going to have some concerns. Duke will always be one of the smallest Power-5 schools, or Power 4, or 3 or however many conferences are left after the purge. Fewer students, fewer alums, a smaller stadium, empty seats for all but the biggest games. And higher academic standards than most of the competition. And bracketed by two large state-supported schools who suck much of the oxygen out of the room.
But Elko agreed to come to Duke only after assurances that Duke would pay the price to play at the high-stakes table and those things happened. As untidy as his departure may have been he left an NIL program still in its infancy but growing up, contacts into the Ivy League Transfer Portal, an illustration of what benefits can accrue with improved strength-and-conditioning and nutritional programs.
Will that be enough? Darned if I know. King said Duke and Parker Executive Search would conduct a “national search,” one that is “ that is “well under way.” The goal is to find “an exceptional head coach to come in and lead this group of elite student-athletes. We will be thorough in our process and we will move quickly.”
Updates were promised.
King is a very good CEO and very good CEOs generally are not surprised by developments of this sort and generally have a wish list of replacement options. So, I’ll remain cautiously optimistic that in the short term Duke will have a quality football coach and program.
Long term? TBD.
Excellent article and I really was looking forward to an analysis by someone with your perspective. Did not disappoint!
Thanks! Cautious optimism much needed and appreciated today