Texas A&M coach Mike Elko denies taking shot at Jimbo Fisher or Brian Kelly after LSU win

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, Texas A&M's 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."

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."

CALM DOWN: Playoff chaos leads college football Week 9 overreactions

RE-RANK: Penn State passes Ohio State in latest NCAA 1-134 standings

Elko worked under Fisher for four seasons as his defensive coordinator at Texas A&M, and the Aggies hired Elko back from Duke in November to replace his former boss.

Fisher earned a well-known reputation for being one of the fastest-talking coaches in America.

"You gotta get your thoughts out,” Fisher said in 2022, when asked about his fast-talking trademark. “... I give you lots of information in a short amount of time. I'm a reporter's dream."

While many initially speculated Elko dropped a veiled zinger aimed at Fisher, others later speculated that he actually was throwing shade at LSU coach Brian Kelly.

Kelly earned a degree in political science. His father worked in politics as an alderman in Massachusetts, and Kelly briefly worked in politics after graduating from college. He staffed for Massachusetts state senator Gerry D'Amico. Kelly told USA TODAY Sports in 2022 that the quid-pro-quo nature of politics didn't suit him.

Elko, on Monday, also shot down the notion that his comment was directed at Kelly, for whom Elko worked as Notre Dame's defensive coordinator in 2017.

"For (Saturday's comments) to be about any other head coach who gave me an opportunity and hired me, that's not who I am," Elko said. "I've never been that person, and it's ridiculous, but it is what it is.

"So, I wanted to make sure that everybody knows I wasn't talking about anybody directly."

Even if many people interpreted it that way.

Here's what's not open to interpretation: Texas A&M's first-place standing in the SEC in Elko's first season.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer. Subscribe to read all of his columns.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas A&M's Mike Elko denies shot at Jimbo Fisher, Brian Kelly