Report: Duke expected to hire ACC assistant as defensive coordinator

It appears Duke has its next defensive coordinator.

Lyle Hemphill, who served in the same role at Wake Forest since 2017, is expected to take a position under Mike Elko, according to The Athletic’s Matt Fortuna and Chris Vannini. Hemphill and Elko previously worked together at Hofstra and Wake Forest.

Duke is expected to hire Wake Forest DC Lyle Hemphill to the same position, sources tell @ChrisVannini and me.

— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) December 17, 2021

Hemphill got his coaching start at Delaware Valley University in 2002 as a defensive backs and special teams coach. After heading to Delaware from 2004-05, he went to Hofstra from 2006-09, where he worked with the secondary and special teams. That’s where he met Elko, who worked as the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach at Hofstra during that time.

Hemphill headed back to Delaware in 2010 before taking the defensive coordinator position at Stony Brook from 2011-16. In 2015, he earned FCS Defensive Coordinator of the Year honors as Stony Brook held teams to just 250 yards — the best mark in Division I.

From there, he headed to Wake Forest, where he’s been ever since. Now, he’s reuniting with Elko, who took over as Blue Devils head coach last week.

Duke went 3-9 this year and mutually agreed to part ways with coach David Cutliffe last month. Elko heads to Duke after serving as Texas A&M’s defensive coordinator from 2018-21. He also worked as Wake Forest’s defensive coordinator from 2014-16 before Hemphill took over for him.

Duke Blue Devils hire Texas A&M defensive coordinator Mike Elko as head coach

According to On3’s Gerry Hamilton, the Duke Blue Devils have finalized a deal for Texas A&M defensive coordinator Mike Elko to become their next head coach. It will mark the first head coaching job for Elko at any level.

Whether or not he will coach in the Aggies’ bowl game against Wake Forest is unknown.

Elko has been a defensive coordinator for seven programs, with Bowling Green being the first at the FBS level in 2009. Since then, he has been at Wake Forest, Notre Dame, and Texas A&M.

Head coach Jimbo Fisher pulled Elko away from South Bend when he was hired in 2018 and let him retool the Aggie defense. His unit was one of the best in the country this season, finishing third in scoring defense with 15.9 points given up per game.

Elko has been behind the No. 1 recruiting class in the country as well, helping pull in five defensive players from the top 100 on the On3 Consensus. He will now have five days to help build the Duke class up, which currently ranked No. 56 according to On3.

Former New York Giants offensive coordinator and Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett was believed to be another candidate for the job. ESPN’s Suzy Kolber reported Friday that Garrett is the “frontrunner” for Duke’s open head coach position.