Mike Elko - Defensive Coordinator

[stlnd01]

IDK.... Stoops and Pruitt both got SEC HC gigs from a DC position and are of Jimbo's coaching tree.

Sorry, I should have said how many coordinators from somewhere other than Bama. Kirby Smart has done pretty well too.
There are certainly coordinators who have made that jump, but there are also real advantages to having head coach experience. We all know Elko can dial up a defense. Can he run a program?
Like I said, can see it either way in his case. Will be interesting to watch.

 

[Irish#1]

He should stay a few more years and then take a HC spot. If he can deliver at TAMU, he'll easily get an op for a HC spot in a decent P5 program. If he goes to Temple, it may even prolong a good jump. Temple is a very decent jumping off program, but I just don't see the benefit here.

Bird in the hand.

 

[NDIrish88]

He should stay a few more years and then take a HC spot. If he can deliver at TAMU, he'll easily get an op for a HC spot in a decent P5 program. If he goes to Temple, it may even prolong a good jump. Temple is a very decent jumping off program, but I just don't see the benefit here.

It will come down to money. I think his history would explain my thoughts on that . . . .

 

[NDohio]

Bird in the hand.

Yep - he's gotta take advantage of his hot name right now. You never know what might happen in two or three years.

 

[zelezo vlk]

Say Elko jumped on the Temple job and did very well for the next few years. Would ND give him an interview once BK retires, or did he burn his bridge?

 

[NDIrish88]

Say Elko jumped on the Temple job and did very well for the next few years. Would ND give him an interview once BK retires, or did he burn his bridge?

My initial reaction would be that he burned his bridge. But if Jack isn't there then I say it is a toss up. Also Kelly had to revamped himself to stay. I don't think Elko would do that for ND. Elko probably would not want to be at ND either.

 

[IrishLion]

Say Elko jumped on the Temple job and did very well for the next few years. Would ND give him an interview once BK retires, or did he burn his bridge?

No way Jose, he burned the bridges and the boats.

He went full merc when he was playing TAMU and ND against each other for pay raises, and ND doesn't take kindly to that.

 

[Valpodoc85]

I think if Elko goes to Temple it will be the Peter Principle. Bit too much to fast.

 

[arrowryan]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Good news for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TAMU?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TAMU</a>: DC Mike Elko is staying at Texas A&M, per source. There had been speculation that he might be headed to Temple for their HC job. Yahoo first reported the news.</p>— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) <a href="https://twitter.com/BruceFeldmanCFB/status/1072871537500291072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[BoredIrish]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Good news for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TAMU?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TAMU</a>: DC Mike Elko is staying at Texas A&M, per source. There had been speculation that he might be headed to Temple for their HC job. Yahoo first reported the news.</p>— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) <a href="https://twitter.com/BruceFeldmanCFB/status/1072871537500291072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Guess he didnt get the job.

 

[Meatloaf]

Didn't Kelly also anounce he was staying put at ND a year ago? After the way Elko used us as a negotiating tool, I wouldn't say aTm is out of the woods yet.

Edit: article about Elko coaching at ND in '18: https://247sports.com/college/notre-dame/Article/Mike-Elko-back-at-Notre-Dame-in-2018-112768422/

 

[SoIll]

interviewing for Bengals DC job.

 

[IrishLion]

interviewing for Bengals DC job.

As a Bengals fan, I support this.

As an SEC hater, I also support this.

As an ND fan, I smh at the mercenary.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

interviewing for Bengals DC job.

 

[BobbyMac]

That's some Kent Tekulve level stone skipping right there!

 

[ulukinatme]

Looks like we wound up with a pretty good deal with Lea when all was said and done <knocks on wood>. Elko wasn't sticking around anyway.

 

[ab2cmiller]

Looks like we wound up with a pretty good deal with Lea when all was said and done <knocks on wood>. Elko wasn't sticking around anyway.

Can you think of anyone that A & M would go after to run their D, that knows Elko's system?

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

Can you think of anyone that A & M would go after to run their D, that knows Elko's system?

No. Dear God, please no.

My gut tells me Lea seems more at home here than Elko did. Seems to embrace the ND culture and it shows with the way he interacts with the players and recruits.

That being said...if ANYONE comes calling for Lea, and ND doesn't have a blank check waiting to match/counter, that would be unacceptable.

 

[ulukinatme]

No. Dear God, please no.

My gut tells me Lea seems more at home here than Elko did. Seems to embrace the ND culture and it shows with the way he interacts with the players and recruits.

That being said...if ANYONE comes calling for Lea, and ND doesn't have a blank check waiting to match/counter, that would be unacceptable.

After Weis, the university has shown that they're unwilling to open the pocket book. A&M has the cash, and if they come calling again I doubt we'll match it.

 

[IrishLion]

After Weis, the university has shown that they're unwilling to open the pocket book. A&M has the cash, and if they come calling again I doubt we'll match it.

ND was willing to match/surpass for Elko... but then Elko milked A&M for even more cash, and then got in touch with ND and basically encouraged them to keep up in a bidding war.

ND is willing to pay, but Elko's situation was over-the-top. I don't think Lea would invite that kind of drama.

 

[ulukinatme]

ND was willing to match/surpass for Elko... but then Elko milked A&M for even more cash, and then got in touch with ND and basically encouraged them to keep up in a bidding war.

ND is willing to pay, but Elko's situation was over-the-top. I don't think Lea would invite that kind of drama.

I don't necessarily mean just with Elko. I know at one point BK didn't have a hefty contract (With respect to other top guys in his position), I don't know if that is still the case or not. Maybe that changed when he flirted with the NFL or with his last contract. I know there was some talk that Weis was still making more than BK as part of the buyout. I know there was some talk that the coordinators could be doing better too, better incentives to stick around, but that was awhile back when guys were frequently getting poached each year. I haven't kept up much the last few years with our salaries.

 

[stlnd01]

interviewing for Bengals DC job.

Ha. Right after Signing Day, to boot.

What does an NFL coordinator make though? Would he be taking a pay cut?

 

[IrishLion]

I don't necessarily mean just with Elko. I know at one point BK didn't have a hefty contract (With respect to other top guys in his position), I don't know if that is still the case or not. Maybe that changed when he flirted with the NFL or with his last contract. I know there was some talk that Weis was still making more than BK as part of the buyout. I know there was some talk that the coordinators could be doing better too, better incentives to stick around, but that was awhile back when guys were frequently getting poached each year. I haven't kept up much the last few years with our salaries.

LAX and guys on other boards have mentioned that pay is good enough to prevent poaching at this point, at least based strictly on pay.

That doesn't prevent a guy like Long from looking at a job in his home state, and stuff like that, but the pay is supposedly more than competitive now.

 

[NDRock]

Ha. Right after Signing Day, to boot.

What does an NFL coordinator make though? Would he be taking a pay cut?

An NFL job seems much more attractive, IMO. Recruiting seems like such a grind, the idea of kissing high school kids asses is enough to want to get a pro job.

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

I don't necessarily mean just with Elko. I know at one point BK didn't have a hefty contract (With respect to other top guys in his position), I don't know if that is still the case or not. Maybe that changed when he flirted with the NFL or with his last contract. I know there was some talk that Weis was still making more than BK as part of the buyout. I know there was some talk that the coordinators could be doing better too, better incentives to stick around, but that was awhile back when guys were frequently getting poached each year. I haven't kept up much the last few years with our salaries.

That is because the publicly available information on the head football coach's compensation does not accurately reflect their actual compensation. Unlike public universities, ND doesn't have the same disclosure requirements so interested parties are reduced to combing through tax returns for direct payments.

So pay "looks" worse than it actually is.

 

[Luckylucci]

LAX and guys on other boards have mentioned that pay is good enough to prevent poaching at this point, at least based strictly on pay.
That doesn't prevent a guy like Long from looking at a job in his home state, and stuff like that, but the pay is supposedly more than competitive now.

I'm pretty sure ND's counter offer that Elko initially accepted was for top 10 probably even top 5 DC money (at the time), so competitive (I want to say it was in the 1.3-1.5M/year range). But A&M having already been told no by Aranda (when LSU went up to 2.5M) was not taking no for an answer and essentially made him the second highest paid DC , at the time. 1.7M Venables, 1.8M Elko, 2.5M Aranda (A&M offered Aranda 2M) is how I think it broke down at the time. Venables soon after got a raise to 2M, I believe. ND wasn't going to make him the 2nd highest paid DC in the country at that time and I don't believe they like how he/they handles things either.

Interestingly enough, Aranda's original contract with LSU, for the 2016 season, was 3 for 1.2M, they increased that originally to 1.8M, and then ultimately to 2.5M to fend off A&M.

 

[Meatloaf]

These hoes ain't loyal.

 

[Irish YJ]

it's a business. and it's a career. if he's putting his family in a better position i have zero problem with it. we don't criticize career moves in any other business.

 

[stlnd01]

it's a business. and it's a career. if he's putting his family in a better position i have zero problem with it. we don't criticize career moves in any other business.

Elko can do whatever the hell he wants. Doesn’t mean we can’t poke a little fun at A&M about it.
If you’re going to throw money at mercenaries, don’t be shocked when they jump for the next better deal. Then they’ve got to find a DC late in the cycle (just don’t come for Clark), and they have that brutal schedule coming up in 2019. Karma, is all.

 

[zelezo vlk]

Wouldn't the Bengals be too cheap to buy out Elko's contract anyways?