Texas A&M is expected to hire Stanford DB coach as new nickels coach

Texas A&M’s 2026 coaching staff will feature several new faces, while third-year head coach Mike Elko elevated five 2025 staff members to new roles, including WR coach Holmon Wiggins becoming the new offensive coordinator, and defensive assistant Lyle Hemphill being named as the new defensive coordinator after Jay Bateman departed for Kentucky.

Simply going off of last season’s success after finishing 11-2 and making the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history, keeping a bulk of the coaching staff in place was a no-brainer. While Holmon Wiggins has yet to call plays during his vast and successful assistant coaching career, he served as Collin Klein’s co-offensive coordinator last season and will likely install new “wrinkles” in a similar game plan next season.

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Under new DC Lyle Hemphill, he will work with a highly experienced defensive staff, including defensive line coaches Elijah Robinson and Tony Jerod-Eddie, linebackers coach Travis Williams, and newly elevated cornerbacks coach Bryant Gross-Armiento, who served as the nickelbacks coach last season.

Needing to find a new nickelbacks coach, Elko has reportedly gone outside College Station and is expected to hire Stanford defensive backs coach Paul Williams, who has successfully developed 11 players currently on active NFL rosters and has produced 14 NFL draft picks from five different schools, including Illinois and Miami.

Experience is everything, and Paul Williams looks like a seamless fit on paper and will now be tasked with replacing veteran nickel Tyreek Chappell heading into the 2026 season.