With Brian VanGorder’s firing and Notre Dame’s disaster of a season this year, there is a lot of pressure for Brian Kelly to get the next defensive coordinator hire right. It is a hire that could effectively save or cost him his job. It can be said without a doubt that VanGorder did not get the most out of his players. Whether it was from having too complicated of a defensive system, lack of coaching fundamentals and technique, or not rotating players frequently enough to keep guys fresh and get younger players more experience, it can be said that without a doubt that the Brian VanGorder era has been a failure. The inability of his defense to keep Texas, Michigan State, and Duke in check cost Notre Dame very valuable wins in a year where it is very likely that the team will miss out on a bowl game. For this reason, Brian Kelly has to make sure that his next hire on that side of the ball is able to lock it down and help this team win enough games to qualify for a playoff spot.
Who Has the Job Now
Currently, the job belongs to former Notre Dame alumnus Greg Hudson on the interim basis. Even though the defense looks much improved in his first four games in charge (and consistently progressing), it appears to be a foregone conclusion that he will not be the guy to lead this defense forward next year. In his career, he has had some successful stints where he was the defensive coordinator for an over achieving East Carolina team under Skip Holtz and was the assistant head coach under Jimbo Fisher for a Florida State team that won the national title in 2013. Despite those successes, his most recent stint involved an abysmal tenure at Purdue where his defenses averaged in the bottom quarter of the FBS which led to his firing. When looking closer at his performance, his defenses have only finished in the top half of the FBS once, and that was in 2006 when East Carolina finished 59th in total defense. Even now, his responsibilities don’t seem to be greater than assisting the rest of the coaches and being the “hype-man” on that side of the ball. Brian Kelly has said on multiple occasions that the defense is his own and that Hudson is just implementing it. It would be surprising to see him be given the job on a permanent basis.
The man that no one seems to be considering for the job is current linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator, Mike Elston. Elston came through the ranks alongside Brian Kelly, serving in many different roles from defensive line coach, co-defensive coordinator, special teams coordinator, recruiting coordinator, linebackers coach, tight ends coach, and assistant head coach. Elston has shown a lot of versatility, beginning his career at Notre Dame as the defensive line coach and special teams coordinator before transitioning to linebackers coach after the massive shakeup in 2014 which saw defensive coordinator Bob Diaco leave for the head coaching position at the University of Connecticut and Kerry Cooks taking over for the defensive backs coach Bob Elliot who move to a less intense day-to-day role. The following year when Tony Alford left for Ohio State, Elston was also assigned the role of recruiting coordinator which he had some success with previously while also being the primary recruiter for Jaylon Smith and Sheldon Day.
Elston had shown a lot of value to Notre Dame as the recruiting coordinator. He has streamlined the recruiting process, brought in a bit of creativity introducing the “Pot of Gold” recruiting packages and even breaking out the university’s equipment bus in the recruitment of Demetris Robertson which has brought some excitement to high school recruits, and has gotten recruits to commit earlier in the cycle having the bulk of this year’s recruiting class commit before the start of the season and already having 6 commits for the 2018 class (not to mention all the recruits who are strongly considering the program). Elston has shown phenomenal leadership in this role and the ability to learn and grow on the job.
Elston has also been forced to grow on the coaching side of things as well since Brian VanGorder’s departure. It has been said that he has taken up a greater role in Notre Dame’s defense and game planning with Brian Kelly. Against Stanford, the cameras came into focus on Elston and play-by-play commentator Dan Hicks noted that while Hudson was the rah-rah guy and emotional leader, Elston was the strategist that puts together X’s and O’s for Brian Kelly and makes sure that guys execute. The following game against Miami, Doug Flutie referred to Elston as a “technician” with the defensive game plan.
These accolades are not at all unusual for Mike Elston. He is somebody that has been held in high regard by many in the industry. Upon accepting the head coaching position at the University of Connecticut, Bob Diaco had offered Elston the opportunity to be his defensive coordinator and run his defense. It was apocryphally believed that Elston was offered the head coaching job at the University of Central Michigan (his former employer) in 2015 which he turned down as well. Even to be linked to these positions, it shows that Elston is a coach with some substance that programs want on their staff.
Which brings us back to his role with Notre Dame. Elston has done an excellent job streamlining much of VanGorder’s defense and simplifying it for the players. He has also thrown different fronts at offenses which has resulted in increased pressure on opposing quarterbacks and a significant increase in the amount of sacks that the defense has recorded. In incorporating more 3-4 fronts, we have seen the lineman play more aggressive and the linebackers being freed up to pressure more with Morgan and Martini both recording multiple sacks in recent weeks. With the change in the front, Notre Dame has been liberated to apply pressure from more areas and to allow players to play in positions that are more natural to them.
Differences in the Coverage
There has also been a subtle switch for the defensive backs who are now playing more zone coverage than pure man coverage. This has resulted in fewer blown coverages and big plays by opposing teams and a very young secondary keeping everything in front of them. In the past, we have seen a freshman KeiVarae Russel being thrown in as a true freshman in 2012 and doing a phenomenal job with the zone coverage scheme. It wasn’t until his return in 2015 and adjusting to VanGorder’s man coverage scheme that Russel struggled significantly to adjust. It would appear that zone coverage is simpler and easier for college players to adjust to and contribute right away.
With the transformation that we have seen on defense over the past few weeks, it would be natural that Elston should be considered as a candidate for the defensive coordinator position at Notre Dame. He knows the players, knows the program, has shown significant loyalty to the program, and most of all, knows what Brian Kelly wants. It is obvious that Kelly needs to make the right hire at defensive coordinator for next season, but if the perfect hire isn’t there, then Elston would be the safest bet, and could possibly surprise many as the homerun hire that no one was expecting. What about his duties as recruiting coordinator? There happens to be an in-house candidate in Autry Denson who is a natural recruiter and genuinely oozes love, passion, and loyalty for the program that comes across to every recruit that he meets. His tenacious attitude to recruit against any and every top program in the country is something to be admired as well. This could possibly be a win-win for the program.
Thanks to Irish Sports Daily for image use.