Advertisement

Michigan football makes big defensive line coach hire

Isaiah Hole
·3 min read
4

It was something of a surprise this offseason to see incumbent Michigan defensive line coach Shaun Nua depart for the same position at USC in Lincoln Riley’s new staff. But in finding his replacement, Jim Harbaugh sought yet another native son to bring home.

Mike Elston has made his name as a coach at Notre Dame, where he’s been on staff since 2010. But the former Wolverines linebacker got his coaching start in Ann Arbor, first as a student intern, then a video assistant, then a graduate assistant in the Lloyd Carr era. He coached at Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan, working with Brian Kelly at the latter, before following him to Cincinnati and then Notre Dame. However, Elston did not join Kelly in Baton Rouge, and he was passed over for the defensive coordinator job by new Irish head coach Marcus Freeman.

Now, Elston, the longtime defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator is coming back to coach the Michigan defensive line at the age of 47 — making him the oldest of the Wolverines assistants.

Led by the defensive line, Notre Dame finished 12th in sacks with 41 in 2021. While his unit was 70th in sacks in 2017, his first year coaching the DL after a two year hiatus coaching the linebackers, it never finished worse than 33rd in the country. In fact, in 2016 when the team only had 28 sacks, it was linebacker-led, whereas it mostly got pressure from the line when he was coaching that unit.

Elston had been the associate head coach at Notre Dame since Jan. 2018, making him yet another Wolverines assistant to hold that title, as Mike Hart held the same distinction at Indiana. He shared with reporters that he intended on staying at Notre Dame due to family back in December.

But as Kelly worked to put his staff together at LSU, Elston made it clear that he intends to stay at Notre Dame. Elston, who also serves as Notre Dame’s recruiting coordinator, was asked Wednesday why he decided to stay.

“At the end of the day,” Elston said, “my family is the most important thing in my life.”

Elston, a father of three daughters, didn’t like the idea of moving his family out of South Bend when his children are at such important stages in their lives. His eldest daughter is a junior in high school. His middle daughter, an eighth grader, has taken to fencing, which likely wouldn’t have happened if not for Notre Dame’s successful program.

With Elston’s hire, presumptive defensive line coach hire, Ryan Osborn — who was rumored to be departing for UConn after the regular season — will remain in his analyst role.

Elston called plays as interim defensive coordinator for Notre Dame in the bowl game.

List

Too-early 2022 Michigan football game-by-game predictions