The last time Mike Elston and Brian Kelly weren’t on a staff together, Tyrone Willingham was Notre Dame’s head coach, some of the Irish’s 2022 signees weren’t born yet and new Irish coach Marcus Freeman was in high school.
So, yeah, there’s a lengthy history there.
Elston and Kelly first joined forces in 2004, Kelly’s debut season as Central Michigan’s head coach. Kelly hired Elston, a defensive line coach at Eastern Michigan from 2001-03, to the same position.
They spent the next 18 seasons together, with Elston holding a variety of roles. He was Central Michigan’s co-defensive coordinator for a year. He has coached special teams, defensive line, linebackers and tight ends. He has served as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator.
When Kelly left for LSU, it was natural to think Elston might go with him after 12 years as a Notre Dame assistant — the last five as defensive line coach. And natural to be initially surprised when Elston tweeted he was staying with the Irish the same night news of Freeman’s hire broke.
Turns out, there was something else in play, and the focus on his coaching ties was a bit misplaced.
“I’ve never shied away from why — people think it’s loyalty to certain people — at the end of the day, my family is the most important thing in my life,” Elston said Wednesday. “To move my daughter who’s a junior in high school right now, starting her senior year.
“To move my middle daughter, Sophia, who’s 14 and she’s going to be starting her freshman year. She’s a top-10, top-15 fencer in the country. A lot of places don’t have fencing. I’m pulling her away from an area where she’s able to flourish.”
Elston will return for season No. 13 at Notre Dame, this one under Freeman’s leadership. The two worked together this year on the Irish’s defensive staff when Freeman was the defensive coordinator. Like Elston, Freeman wanted continuity. He’s keeping most of the 2021 coaching staff intact. All Elston needed was an assurance he had a spot.
“It’s a family decision for me,” Elston said. “It will always be a family decision for me. It’s not about money. My kids want to go to Notre Dame too. That’s why I’ve turned down opportunities for myself. I want my children to go off to college and when they say to their friends, ‘I’m going home for the weekend,’ they have a place to go. They know where home is, and that’s South Bend for them. I don’t want that to change right now.”
By returning, one wonders if Elston’s role on staff might change – perhaps with a promotion to defensive coordinator duties. Freeman indicated he will not fill that role until after the Jan. 1 Fiesta Bowl.
It’s not yet clear if Freeman will call the defensive plays in the bowl now that he has head-coaching responsibilities in it. If he doesn’t, Elston would be a prime candidate. Whoever gets that task if Freeman gives it up will have a de facto live audition no external candidate will receive.
Elston’s lone season as a defensive coordinator was 2005 at Central Michigan. Excluding Freeman, he’s the only coach on staff with prior defensive coordinator experience.
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