Mike Elko sends message to Brian Kelly, Jimbo Fisher for impact on coaching career

Texas A&M defensive coordinator Mike Elko was named the next head coach at Duke last week, a position he says he wouldn’t be in without the help of his former mentors.

Elko comes to Duke with a myriad of Division-I coaching experience at just age 44, but the job at Duke will be his first as a head coach. Previously, the former Penn safety worked for Stony Brook, Penn, Merchant Marine, Fordham, Richmond, Hofstra and Bowling Green — largely as a defensive coordinator or position coach — before getting his break in 2014. That season, Elko accepted a job with Wake Forest, where he served as defensive coordinator and safeties coach for three years. Elko, in his opening press conference, took the time to thank a number of his biggest mentors, starting with Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson.

“There are a lot of coaches that have impacted my life on this journey, a lot of men that have played a part in making me the coach and the mentor of young men that I am today,” Elko said, just as he officially took the helm of a program in Clawson’s conference. “That thank you starts with Dave Clawson. Thank you for taking the chance on a young kid trying to figure this whole profession out twice. Your mentorship and friendship, Dave, have meant the world to me and I’m not on this podium without you. Now, I really look forward to competing with you every Saturday for the next few years to come.”

After Wake Forest, Elko moved to one of the country’s premier programs, where in 2017 he was named defensive coordinator at Notre Dame. His stint with the Fighting Irish only lasted one season, as Elko then moved to Texas A&M, where he’s been ever since. As such, he thanked his mentors at both schools, Brian Kelly and Jimbo Fisher, for their help along the way.

“Thank you to Brian Kelly and Jimbo Fisher for giving me an opportunity to really hone my craft at the highest level and learn how to manage a national brand and take my game as a coach to the next level. There are countless assistant coaches that I’ve worked with over the years that I will forever be in debt to,” Elko said. “Their tireless loyalty, the work ethic they put into our programs, the way they’ve shaped my life – I will forever be thankful. There are too many to name, but they’ve touched me in ways that I can’t even discuss. To the players I’ve been around throughout the years – you are the reason for my success. I am not here without the players I’ve come across. You guys have impacted me, my life, my family’s life. Without you, none of this is possible.”