Texas A&M defensive coordinator to be next head coach for Duke Blue Devils

According to On3’s Gerry Hamilton, the Duke Blue Devils are finalizing 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. W

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.

In the end, Elko ended up being the choice for the Blue Devils. He will be taking over a program that struggled mightily on defense this past season, finishing in the bottom three of scoring defense in the country.

It will be a massive rebuild for the now ex-Texas A&M defensive coordinator.

Elko replacing David Cutcliffe for Duke

Elko will be replacing David Cutcliffe, who had been with the Duke Blue Devils since the 2008 season. He and the Blue Devils agreed to mutually move on after the regular-season finale against the Miami Hurricanes.

This season was the third straight with a losing record, going 3-9 overall and 0-8 within the ACC. Cutcliffe’s peak while with Duke came during the 2013 season, reaching a conference championship game and winning 10 regular-season games.

Cutcliffe was named the ACC Coach of the Year twice (2012, 2013) while in Durham. Of the program’s six career bowl wins, three have come under the now-former head coach.

Duke was on a 19-year streak of not appearing in the AP poll before the 2013 season. Finishing the season in the poll that same year, Cutcliffe broke a 53-year streak of not appearing in the final edition.