Wake Forest’s Mike Elko is coming to South Bend. Multiple reports confirm that the Demon Deacons defensive coordinator is Brian Kelly’s choice to come to Notre Dame to fix the Irish defense.
Perhaps the most important hire of Kelly’s tenure in South Bend, Elko comes on the heels of an eight-loss season and confidence in the Irish head coach at an all-time low. And as rumors swirl about major changes to the Irish coaching and support staff, Elko is the major offseason move that most were waiting for.
SI’s Pete Thamel broke the news on Thursday that Elko was accepting the job. Multiple reports have confirmed as much, with the university vetting process now trudging along, with Elko ready to hit the recruiting trail after the dead period ends after the holidays.
While Elko’s first job will be to hit the road and introduce himself to a recruiting class that’s holding strong but in need of a good finish, his main job will be to pick up the pieces left behind by Brian VanGorder. Interim coordinator Greg Hudson stopped the bleeding-- with a huge assist from Mike Elston. But Elko will bring a fresh approach to the defensive side of the ball, a critical move for Kelly who went outside his network to bring Elko into the fold.
I spent all day reporting for stories next week and missed Mike Elko to Notre Dame. Tremendous hire. Huge upgrade from BVG.
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) December 16, 2016
While Elko isn’t a name that made waves on the national radar, his work at Wake Forest and Bowling Green is certainly impressive. With a more modest talent base, his three defenses in Winston-Salem were better than Notre Dame’s last three defenses, and he was a large part of David Clawson’s revival of Bowling Green as well, two top ten units in his final two seasons with the MAC program.
The hire certainly isn’t without concerns. The first might be the recruiting trail, where Elko hasn’t been asked to battle against giants like Harbaugh, Meyer and national powers. The next will be the Notre Dame pressure cooker, with the new coordinator’s three-year deal not indicative of the tight rope this staff will be walking next season.
While Kelly had no connectivity to Elko, he could certainly appreciate his resume and job path. Coaching stops at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and places like Stony Brook, Fordham and Hofstra certainly don’t point to a guy who has blue-blooded football roots. But an Ivy league background (Elko went to Penn) and a successful track record at the college level is more in line with the program than VanGorder’s travails in the NFL.
Notre Dame has not commented on the hire. Other rumors are currently swirling as Brian Kelly’s staff is in the middle of a major shakeup.