Report: Notre Dame Hires Mike Elko As Defensive Coordinator

Notre Dame appears to have its new defensive coordinator.

Wake Forest’s Mike Elko is finalizing a deal with the Irish, according to Sports Illustrated.

Elko, a 39-year-old New Jersey native, interviewed for the Notre Dame job this week, Football Scoop reported. He lands with the Irish after reportedly getting interest from several other major programs, including Florida and Oregon.

Elko’s hire ends a coordinator search that ultimately began when head coach Brian Kelly fired Brian VanGorder after the team’s embarrassing 38-35 loss to Duke Sept. 24. The Irish promoted defensive analyst Greg Hudson to DC for the remainder of the season, but the move was never considered permanent.

VanGorder, a longtime friend and coaching colleague of Kelly’s, ran an NFL-style defense that was often criticized for its complexity. While VanGorder’s defense occasionally played well, the Irish were 103rd nationally in total defense, 101st in scoring defense, 98th in yards allowed per play, 88th in turnovers gained, 96th in rushing defense, 111th in pass efficiency defense and 114th in tackles for loss per game when he was dismissed.

Ultimately, Notre Dame finished 45th in total defense (378.8) and 60th in scoring defense (27.8) during the team’s 4-8 finish.

Elko’s name was rumored for the opening almost immediately after VanGorder was let go. His defenses at Wake Forest — even with significantly less talent — drew national attention.

In Elko, Notre Dame gets a defensive coordinator that has risen in the profession while working under current Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson. In his third year as the Demon Deacons’ DC in 2016, the Atlantic Coast Conference program finished tied for 20th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 21.8 points per game. Wake Forest also finished tied for 39th in total defense, allowing 370.1 yards per game. Wake Forest allowed just nine and 17 points, respectively, in games against Syracuse and Florida State this season.

Elko’s defense held the high-powered Syracuse offense to 168 passing yards and 326 total offense yards, earning him National Defensive Coordinator of the Week honors by Coachingsearch.com.

At Wake Forest, Elko installed his aggressive, odd-front multiple defense. The scheme takes advantage of hybrid players that can rush the passer and drop into coverage. The two linebacker spots are designated “BUCK” and “MIKE," and there is also a rover. At Wake Forest, Elko coached the defense during games from the booth.

Elko, a 1999 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, played linebacker for the Quakers. His position coach was Todd Orlando, the current defensive coordinator at the University of Houston.

Notre Dame did not qualify for a bowl game in 2016 for the first time since 2007. The defense is expected to return seven starters in 2017, including rising senior Nyles Morgan, who led the team in tackles (94) and sacks (four) this past season.

The Irish played Elko and Wake Forest in 2015 at Notre Dame Stadium. Wake Forest was the only team to hold Notre Dame to less than 400 yards in total offense (282) in a 28-7 Irish victory.

Before arriving at Wake Forest in 2014, Elko was the defensive coordinator under Clawson at Bowling Green for five seasons (2009-13). In his last two seasons at Bowling Green, Elko’s defenses led the Mid-American Conference in scoring defense, total defense, rushing defense and passing defense. His 2012 defense was particularly impressive, finishing the season ranked sixth nationally in total defense (296.6) and 10th in scoring (16.7). The Falcons also ranked 11th in sacks (38).

Elko also coached under Clawson at Richmond (2004-05) and Fordham (2002-03). From 2006-08, Elko was defensive coordinator at Hofstra. He briefly took the DC job at Tennessee-Chattanooga in 2009 before reuniting with Clawson at Bowling Green two months later. Prior to leaving UTC, Elko spoke about embracing the challenge of a defensive rebuild.

“We’re going to come in and we’re going to start doing what we do,” Elko told the Chattanooga Times Free Press in January 2009. “Not to say that it’s better or worse than anybody else’s, but we’ve got to get these kids to understand how we want it done and how we’re going to do it. Whether they’re a 3-4 switching to it or a 4-3 switching to it, it’s all different. It’s going to be a learning curve of getting them up to speed on how we do things.”

Elko has thrived at Wake Forest with a roster that ranks near the bottom of the ACC in terms of talent. The Demon Deacons’ previous four recruiting classes ranked 61st, 52nd, 59th and 58th, bringing in just one four-star prospect. Elko coached 2015 NFL first-round draft pick Kevin Johnson, a cornerback, for one season.

Elko’s first coaching job was at Stony Brook in 1999, where he coached the linebackers in the fall and defensive backs in the spring. He also had coaching stints at Penn (2000, secondary) and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (2001, defensive coordinator).

At Wake Forest, he coached the Demon Deacons’ safeties. Elko also has experience coaching linebackers. He’s tasked with improving a Notre Dame defense that struggled to put pressure on the quarterback the past three seasons.

Notre Dame’s defensive line finished with just three sacks in 2016, the fewest among any Power Five conference team. The Fighting Irish had only 14 sacks overall, tied for 118th nationally among 128 Football Bowl Subdivision teams and created just 14 turnovers, which ranked tied for 102nd.

Elko could fix those poor numbers: The Demon Deacons ranked 12th nationally in sacks with 37 and 10th in turnovers forced with 25.

“I’m so proud of those guys for buying into what we’ve wanted to do and what we want to be about,” Elko told The Charlotte Observer prior to his first season in Winston-Salem. “Guys who have played a lot of football can go away from that sometimes. I’ve said to both of them, I respect the heck out of them for taking us under their wing and doing what we’re asking them to do and trying to play the game the right way.”

It’s unknown what Elko’s salary was at Wake Forest, a private school of about 8,000 students that is not subject to open records requests. In Elko’s final season at Bowling Green he made $130,000, his first year in six figures.

Notre Dame paid VanGorder $1.106 million in 2014, making him the ninth-highest paid assistant in the country.

----

• Talk about it inside Rockne’s Roundtable

• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.

• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @BGI_LouSomogyi, @BGI_CoachD, @BGI_MattJones and @BGI_CoreyBodden.

• Like us on Facebook.