First off, many readers are probably thinking, Mike Elko? Really?
The Duke head coach has little Power 5 head coaching experience except for his last two seasons in the ACC. But fear not, I’m here to tell you why, in my opinion, he is one of the best options on the table.
He is by far one of the best defensive minds in football and an extensive history of program improvement to back it up.
Elko’s career stretches two decades, most recently with four seasons under former Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher from 2018-22. In those years, he helped lead the Aggies to a 34-14 record and four consecutive bowl games.
With the term “defense wins championships” in mind, the fans in Aggieland will be quite pleased to hear Elko’s proof of change on the defensive front.
Before his time at A&M, Elko was the defensive coordinator at Wake Forest from 2014-16, where he led the defense to be ranked in the top 20 nationally in fumbles recovered (third), turnovers forced (10th), sacks (12th), defensive touchdowns (17th), red zone defense (17th) and scoring defense (20th).
Elko’s squad at Duke has also seen noticeable changes since his tenure. During his first season, he turned around the program from a bottom feeder in the ACC to a 9-3 finish with a bowl win against UCF to cap it off. These accomplishments garnered him ACC Coach of the Year honors.
Also, Elko is estimated to have earned approximately $2.1 million in his first season in Durham, North Carolina, compared to Fisher, who was paid $9 million a year after his 2021 extension for a position that required a lot more success.
In 2023, Elko’s Blue Devils have fallen a bit since their fiery 4-0 start to the season. Since their loss to Notre Dame in Week 5, they have gone 2-5 with four losses to Top 25 teams.
Despite this, the Blue Devils have allowed only 18 points a game while churning out a little over 27 points offensively.
These last few weeks for Duke will be a true testament to Elko’s coaching ability as the Blue Devils have the potential to win out and reach another bowl game.