Texas A&M finally has its new defensive coordinator.

Notre Dame's Mike Elko is expected to take the job on the Aggies' new staff, Fighting Irish coach Brian Kelly confirmed on Thursday. Elko spent one year with Notre Dame after three seasons at Wake Forest.

The move was first reported Thursday by TexAgs and later confirmed by Fox Sports.

Elko's hire comes on the heels of the Aggies missing out on LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda. After A&M reportedly made multiple pushes to land the nation's highest-paid assistant, LSU coach Ed Orgeron announced Aranda will stay in Baton Rouge.

According to Yahoo, Elko and A&M agreed to a three-year deal with an average salary of $1.8 million, which is roughly $200,000 more than A&M's previous defensive coordinator, John Chavis, made during the 2017 season. But Elko's pay figure could grow over the term of the contract.

Source: Mike Elko’s deal at Texas A&M is three years at an average of $1.8 million per year. — Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 4, 2018

Source: More details on Elko’s contract at A&M. It’s a three-year deal with a rollover options. It STARTS at $1.8 in Year 1 with incentives to grow. — Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 4, 2018

Thursday wasn't the first time Elko's name was linked to the A&M opening and is unlikely the first time the Aggies gauged his interest in coming to College Station.

In a December interview with IrishIllustrated.com, Kelly appeared to have referenced A&M's pursuit of Elko before the Aggies' bowl game against Wake Forest.

"If you're looking at the defensive coordinators that are out there today and you look at what they're being paid, it's ridiculous," Kelly told the 247Sports.com affiliate. "The money is crazy and the length of contracts that are being thrown at you.

"You look at it that way, you're probably going to catch somebody's eye early on in the process, and I'm not saying that it happened or it didn't happen; you can put two and two together."

During the regular season, Notre Dame was 32nd in the country in scoring defense and 44th in yards allowed per game. The Irish finished the 2016 season 62nd and 32nd, respectively, in both categories.

Elko's hire hasn't been officially announced by A&M. No salary figures have been reported.