Duke extends contract of football coach Mike Elko through 2029

Duke University announced the contract extension for Blue Devils football coach Mike Elko Monday, keeping him with the school through the 2029 season.

In the new deal, Elko received an enhanced, escalating model for the assistant coach and support staff salary pools. Based on his success at a basketball-dominant institution, that’s big for the football program.

Elko released a statement after receiving his new deal.

“Sincere thanks to Dr. (Vincent) Price and Nina (King) for their commitment not only to me but also the football staff and entire program we have here at Duke,” Elko said. “This will enable us to continue to build elite opportunities for our young men to develop and succeed at one of the most prestigious universities in the country. We came here with a mission to create a program that could become the absolute Best of Both Worlds, and this is another step in that direction. The future of Duke Football is extremely bright.”

The administration is quite thrilled as well.

“Over the last 18 months, Coach Elko has cultivated and executed a plan to push Duke Football forward with tremendous attention to detail, energy and a persistent commitment to excellence,” Athletic Director Nina King said in a statement. “His passionate dedication to the Duke experience sets the standard, and we are fortunate to have him and the entire staff developing the young men in our program into elite student-athletes and future community leaders. Coach Elko’s vision acutely aligns with the principles of the university, and I could not be more excited to have him guide Duke Football well into the future.”

It only took one year for Elko to gain the faith of the entire school. He went 9-4 in his debut season as a head coach after spending the last four years at Texas A&M as the defensive coordinator.

Duke is Elko’s first head coaching job at the Division 1 level, following a career spanning over 20 decades as a defensive assistant coach at numerous stops.

In year one of Elko’s leadership, the Blue Devils showed marked improvement on the field, moving from 102nd and 127th nationally in scoring offense and defense to 31st, respectively, in both categories. Duke’s total offense and defensive rankings also advanced under Elko, going from 54th and 130th to 43rd and 67th, respectively.

The most significant turnaround came in turnover margin where the Blue Devils jumped from 108th nationally in 2021 to an ACC-best and No. 2 national mark of +1.23.

Currently, Duke has the No. 36 overall recruiting class in the upcoming 2024 cycle, per the On3 Industry Ranking.