Mike Elko Was Introduced As Duke's New Head Coach On Monday At Pascal Field House In Durham During An Introductory Press Conference!

Who is Duke’s new Head Coach?

Mike Elko who was the Defensive Coordinator at Texas A&M!

In his fourth season Mike Elko was overseeing the Wrecking Crew as defensive coordinator.

Mike Elko vastly improved the Texas A&M defense throughout his time in College Station and saw the unit lead the SEC in total defense and rank second among league teams in rushing and passing defense. Elko's guidance helped A&M post an 8-1 regular season record against all SEC opponents and boast a top-five ranking through the end of the season.

Mike Elko came to Texas A&M after one season of directing Notre Dame's defense. In his lone season in South Bend, the defense ranked in the top half nationally in all four major defensive categories as the Irish finished with a 10-3 record, which included a 21-17 win over LSU in the 2018 Citrus Bowl. Elko was a semifinalist for the Broyles Award, which is given annually to the top assistant coach in college football.

After his fourth season as the Defensive Coordinator for Texas A&M Mike Elko accepted the head coaching position at Duke! After accepting the Head Coaching position at Duke Mike Elko wrote a letter to Texas A&M fans, spectators!

Mike Elko had this say about the accepting the opportunity to be Duke’s Head Coach!

I want to thank Nina King and President Price for this great opportunity," Elko said. "Duke stands for excellence. The university has excelled in everything they've ever tried to do, whether that'd be in academics or athletics. I'm excited to get to work."

“according to an article on goduke.com”

Mike Elko is replacing David Cutcliffe who parted ways with Director Of Athletics Nina King after Duke finished this season with a record of 3-9 0-8 in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Mike Elko had this say about accepting the opportunity to be Duke’s new Head Coach!

I want to thank Nina King and President Price for this great opportunity," Elko said. "Duke stands for excellence. The university has excelled in everything they've ever tried to do, whether that'd be in academics or athletics. I'm excited to get to work."

“according to an article on goduke.com”

Mike Elko was introduced as Duke’s new Head Coach on Monday At Pascal Field House during an Introductory Press Conference!

The first to speak at the introductory press conference was Duke University President Vincent E. Price!

What did he have say during Mike Elko’s introductory press conference as Duke’s new Head Coach?

This is what he had to say!

Good morning. I am thrilled today with Nina [King] and our colleagues from across the university to welcome Mike Elko to Duke. Ours is an institution with a storied history related to football. Our very first football coach in 1888 was none other than the institution's president, John Franklin Crowell. And with that in mind, Mike I promise not to be as involved as President Crowell. A century ago, in 1920, football was returning to our campus after a 25-year hiatus, so today we are entering the second century of Duke football and Mike Elko is exactly the coach to lead us to an extraordinary future. Mike is no stranger to ACC football. Having coached at Wake Forest before heading to Notre Dame and then to Texas A&M and I'm proud to report he and I both spent time at Penn – his alma mater, which he helped lead to an Ivy League Championship crown in 1998, and I know he will bring similar success here to Duke. Mike will bring with him an extraordinary knowledge of the game. He was a league-leading quarterback in high school, but he was moved to defense in college where his coach said you could tell from day one that he had an unusually deep understanding, not only of his own safety position, but of what everybody else on the field did. He brings with him a record of coaching success, producing some of the nation's top-ranked defenses on a number of campuses. He brings with him a keen understanding of how athletics can support the identity and campus life of a complex research institution. And perhaps more importantly he brings with him an unwavering commitment to the academic and the personal success of his student-athletes. These are values that are vitally important to Duke Athletics, and we feel very confident that our football program is in excellent hands with Mike. Mike as you will soon learn, Duke is Bull City proud. And today we're so very proud to welcome you and Michelle, Michael, Andrew and Kaitlyn to the Duke and Durham families. Congratulations."

He brings brings with him a record of coaching success, producing some of the nation's top-ranked defenses on a number of campuses," Price said. "He brings with him a keen understanding of how athletics can support the identity and campus life of a complex research institution. And perhaps more importantly, he brings with him an unwavering commitment to the academic and the personal success of his student-athletes. These are values that are vitally important to Duke Athletics, and we feel very confident that our football program is in excellent hands with Mike. "

The next to speak at the introductory press conference was Vice Present, Director Of Athletics Nina King!

She had this to say about Duke’s New Head Coach Mike Elko
"Good to be with everybody on this beautiful December morning. We're incredibly excited to officially welcome Mike, Michelle, Michael, Andrew and Kaitlyn to the Blue Devil family. What an exciting day. I'll be brief because I know it's not me that you necessarily want to hear from, but I do want to share a few of my thoughts from my perspective on the man that is our next head football coach. When we embarked on this national search 15 days ago, we set out to find a leader that embodied the values of Duke University. Someone that was committed to excellence in athletics as a part of a larger commitment to excellence in education. Someone who had outlined clear expectations for success both on and off the field, and someone who would be a teacher and mentor to the young men that he would be charged with developing during their time as Duke students and preparing them for life after Duke. Ladies and gentlemen, that is Mike Elko. From my first of many conversations with Mike over the past few weeks, it was not hard to see his commitment and passion for the entire student-athlete experience, his desire for competitive success on the football field, but more importantly in the classroom and in life. Mike shared with me his deeply personal story that has made him into the man he is today – a family man that values education, and he is an incredibly authentic and grounded leader. He has a remarkable football mind, and he's shared his talents with some incredibly successful football programs throughout his career. I talked to a lot of people around the country about Mike and to a tee, everyone enthusiastically talked about his intelligence and football acumen as well as his ability to relate to student-athletes and prospects. When we asked our current student-athletes what they wanted to see in their next head coach, they told us that they wanted an innovative coach with energy and enthusiasm who was a proven winner and knew how to develop players. Well, I can say, gentlemen, without a doubt, Mike Elko is every single one of those things and more. We got our guy, and I could not be more thrilled. Before I turn it over to Coach Elko, there are a few people that I'd like to thank – first and foremost, thank you President Price for your trust in me and your unwavering support through this process. You've been an unbelievable partner throughout my short tenure as Vice President and Director of Athletics, and I am once again deeply grateful for our partnership as we continue to move Duke Athletics forward. To the Board of Trustees under the leadership of Laurene Sperling, as well as our university administration, thank you for your passionate support, understanding and assistance as we undertook this endeavor to bring our next football coach to Duke. To my colleague, Art Chase, Senior Associate Athletic Director and Football Administrator, who was with me every step of the way along this search – it's a wonder we didn't get too sick of each other over the past couple of weeks as this process took countless hours, long days, long nights traveling around the country, but there's no one I'd rather eat peanut M&M's with for dinner while strategizing over spreadsheets and pages and pages of information. Thank you for being a great colleague and friend every day, but most importantly throughout this process. When we embarked on this national search to bring the very best to Duke, we partnered with Daniel Parker from Parker Executive Search, and a huge thank you to Daniel and his team for their assistance and wise counsel during what was a very strategic and thorough process from day one – and Daniel provided the peanut M&M's for dinner. I'd also like to thank Coach Trooper Taylor for serving as our interim head coach during a time filled with anxiety and unease for our student-athletes, staff and recruits. Trooper did a fantastic job keeping everyone together, patient and focused until we arrived at an announcement. I'm most appreciative for his steadfast and positive demeanor throughout the past two weeks. Most importantly, a massive thank you to all of the football student-athletes who played a critically important role during this process. Your voice matters, and we are deeply appreciative for your input and your feedback. You are Duke football and this hire is for you. I'm excited for all of you as we enter into this next chapter with Coach Elko. There are so many others within the university and within athletics who played such a large part in this hire, this announcement, this event today – thank you all. It most certainly takes a village. So, with that, that is enough for me. I'd like to turn it to the man of the hour. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming the next head coach of Duke football, coach Mike Elko."

After Vice President, Director Of Athletics Nina King finished speaking she introduced Mike Elko as Duke’s new Head Coach then he spoke at his introductory press conference as Duke’s new Head Coach!

He had this to say about being Duke’s new Head Coach!

Thank you, thank you. I'm truly blessed to be the next football coach at Duke University. There're so many people to thank that have been part of this process throughout the way. I'm going to start by saying thank you to President Price. Thank you for believing in me to be the next leader of this football program. It was your vision of how academics and athletics could blend together on this campus that really sold me that this was the right place and the right time for Duke football. Thank you, Nina. Your professionalism in this process has been unbelievable. I really look forward to rolling up my sleeves and partnering with you and elevating this program to the levels we want it to get to. To Art Chase – thank you for the last 48 hours and navigating this whirlwind. I don't know if I actually get to Durham without your help and so I appreciate everything you've done.

This is a coach's dream to stand in front of this podium as the head football coach. When you start this profession, this is everything that you've ever hoped for. There are so many people along the way that helped me get here, so I'm going to take a minute and thank some of the ones who have been important in my journey. It starts with my wife Michelle – you are my rock. The support you've had for me and our family throughout this whole thing, I can't do any of this without you. To my three kids Michael, Andrew and Kaitlyn – the sacrifices that you've made to allow daddy to chase his dreams, I'll forever be thankful. I know it's not always easy, but you guys are amazing and I'm not here without you. To my mom and dad who I believe are watching at home somewhere, thank you for instilling in me work ethic. It has allowed me to pursue my passion and coach this great game of football.

There are a lot of coaches that have impacted my life on this journey, a lot of men that have played a part in making me the coach and the mentor of young men that I am today. That thank you starts with Dave Clawson. Thank you for taking the chance on a young kid trying to figure this whole profession out twice. Your mentorship and friendship, Dave, have meant the world to me and I'm not on this podium without you. Now, I really look forward to competing with you every Saturday for the next few years to come. Thank you to Brian Kelly and Jimbo Fisher for giving me an opportunity to really hone my craft at the highest level and learn how to manage a national brand and take my game as a coach to the next level. There are countless assistant coaches that I've worked with over the years that I will forever be in debt to. Their tireless loyalty, the work ethic they put into our programs, the way they've shaped my life – I will forever be thankful. There are too many to name, but they've touched me in ways that I can't even discuss. To the players I've been around throughout the years – you are the reason for my success. I am not here without the players I've come across. You guys have impacted me, my life, my family's life. Without you, none of this is possible.

I believe that now is the time for Duke football. The Duke brand is nationally recognized as a brand of excellence. The combined accomplishments of this university in academics and athletics are truly unparalleled. We have a world-renowned faculty and an amazing group of coaches that have achieved nothing short of greatness in their fields. The amount of ACC Championships and National Championships that this university has brought to Durham is amazing. Now it's time for football to get on that level. It's time for football to hold its end of the bargain and elevate itself to being a national brand and a nationally recognized program.

To achieve this success, we're going to need a lot of support. It starts right here in Bull City. Bull City – we are your team. We need your support of this great program for us to achieve the things that we want to achieve. We need you to get behind this football team and grow with this team together. We need you to help fill this stadium on Saturdays in the fall and create the best on-field atmosphere in the ACC every Saturday that we play a game. To the student body – I have been amazed at you from a school spirit standpoint from afar from a long time. What you do in Cameron Indoor Stadium as the Cameron Crazies is amazing. We need that same energy and passion from you on Saturdays in the fall at Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium. We need you to bring that same energy to our stadium. There's nothing better than for a young football player to run out of the tunnel in front of a rowdy student section and a packed house and get ready to play the game they love to play. To the ex-players – you have open access now. Whatever era you played in, whenever you graduated, this will always be your home and your program. Whatever we can do to bring you back into the fold or make you apart of this thing, please let us know. You have open access to everything that we're about. To the Duke alumni throughout the nation, we need your help selling the brand. We need you to sell excellence at Duke everywhere you go, not just in this university, but in this football program. We need to spread the word that Duke Football now stands for excellence nationwide.

We will achieve the highest levels of success in everything we do. We will be competitive in the classroom, graduate our student-athletes, be a life-long partner in whatever future endeavors they choose to pursue, whether that be in the NFL or in the workplace. We will be tremendous ambassadors for this community both here on campus and in the city of Durham. We will win championships on the field in the fall. I want to make sure I say that again – we will win championships on the field in the fall.

To accomplish that, we're going to have to learn how to embrace the G.R.I.N.D. We will develop grit, the mental and physical toughness that will allow us to persevere through difficult times and collectively allow us to overachieve as a group. We will develop relentless effort. We will understand that it is a privilege to represent this great university and institution on the football field, and we will exhaust ourselves in our pursuit of excellence in our craft. We will conduct ourselves with integrity. We will understand that we represent much more than ourselves when we become a member of the Duke football program, and we will make choices in our lives that align with the high standards of this great institution and great community. The most important piece in the acronym will be this - we will live in the now because the now is all that matters. The now is all we can control. Our previous failures have nothing to do with what we can become now. We are looking to have success now, looking to improve now, looking to work hard now. That is the most important part of the championship mindset. We have to get that now and we have to understand that now is the time for Duke football. And we will become dependable. There are a lot of people counting on each other in a football organization – it's one of the largest organizations on a college campus. For us to have success, everyone has to pull their own weight. We have to be able to rely and depend on each other, and we have to know that everyone has each other's back. If we can't do it together, we can't do it at all. So, we've got to make sure we understand that.

The beauty of these five pillars is that they require zero talent. There's no level of excellence that you need in your athleticism, it's simply a mindset. It's a mindset that we have to change. It demands us to make a choice that we will not settle for anything else but excellence in anything we do. Once we truly understand that and truly embrace these five pillars, success will follow, and success will follow on the field. We have to be process driven to get there and we have to understand that it's going to take time, we're going to have to climb the stairs and we're going to have to work to get where we want to go. But again, I will accentuate – now is the time!

I cannot wait to pour every ounce of energy and passion that I have for this great game into this program and this university. I'm so looking forward to this opportunity. I'm grateful for every opportunity I've been given along the way, but this one is special and this one is the time. I'm so excited to be your new head football coach and cannot wait to roll my sleeves up and get to work. I'm just super excited to be here and be a part of this family. Can't wait to get going. Thank you, thank you everyone for coming."

MIKE ELKO Q&A SESSION WITH MEDIA
On learning from his experience at Wake Forest and what he can take away:
"I think we don't want to sell ourselves short. We want to have the ability to be a developmental program and take kids and make them everything that we can become, but I also think we have a very strong national brand. We want to go beat down doors and knock down doors across this country to find elite level athletes who want elite level academics. They're out there, and they exist. We'll find a balance between increasing our recruiting efforts and maybe bringing in some kids that can help right away, with bringing in kids that are more developmental. I think the difference between the two programs is honestly, we have a national brand, and we can go a lot of places across this country and sell what Duke football stands for."

On his approach to recruiting in North Carolina and beyond:
"I think everything we do in recruiting has got to start inside out. We're going to make sure we scour the great state of North Carolina and find every kid that we think matches our program's goals and that is to be great in the classroom and great on the football field. I think from there, you expand. I think that's, again, we are going to keep coming to this, but that's again where this brand will help. I think we can expand into a lot of places across this country, to find football players that want to be great in everything they do. They're out there. I've done it nationally, I've done it in a lot of different places, but we've just got to roll up our sleeves and work. We can't settle ourselves on being a regional school, we can't settle ourselves on taking what's available and easy to come by, we've got to go out there and we've got to really work and compete to get the absolute best student-athletes that we can get. I think you see that across the board at a lot of the sports programs in this university already. It will always start in North Carolina, that will always be our home and we will always make sure we are going an extremely thorough job in this state, but from there, we've got to make sure we really expand ourselves to find and bring in the absolute best that we can."

On his offensive vision as a defensive-minded head coach:
"So, the first vision is very simple, we're going to score points. I want to make sure everyone understands that. Going through this process a few times, for some reason there appears to be this belief that defensive coaches don't want to score points, so I'm going to make sure that's clear. No, we're going to run a multiple offense system, that really allows us to utilize who we are. I think we're going to be able to bring in kids that have a very high football IQ. We want to make sure that we are adapting this system to them to give them some freedom and flexibility to make sure that we are running the right plays at the right times against the right looks. Maybe create more of a pro-style mentality in that regard in how we go about it. Then we want to be able to utilize our personnel. I think that's the biggest thing. Everyone wants to talk about offensive philosophy and what that looks like in terms of style of offense. I think our offensive philosophy is going to be very simple. We want to get into the hands of our best playmakers as much as we can, and we want to allow them to be successful and make plays. So, there will be years where we are more talented at running back and we have to become more of a run team. There's going to be years where we are talented at quarterback and a great tight end and we're going to look like a team that features the tight end. Then, if we've got great outside receivers, we're going to look like the spread team that throws the ball all over the place. I think we've got to find our personnel, take our personnel and utilize it to the best of our ability."

On his timeline for building a staff with National Signing Day in two days:
"So, my priority since I got hired has been this recruiting class. I think that is the first and foremost thing we've got to get hammered out. They've been through a tough two weeks, trying to find out who they are going to send their son to play for, their son trying to figure out the man they are going to play for and so I've spent a lot of time in that avenue over the last couple of days, trying to ease everybody and make sure we get to Wednesday and get this class signed and part of this community. Then from there, it will be building a staff. What I'll say is this - trust the process. It will not go as fast as anyone wants it to go, it never does. We're going to be extremely thorough in how we go about this process. There will be guys playing in bowl games, guys with obligations to do other things, but this thing will come together and at the end of the day we will have the absolute best staff in the ACC."

On leveraging the transfer portal and Name, Image and Likeness:
"I think the first thing is the transfer portal and that starts with our own locker room. We've got to build a culture and a family atmosphere in our locker room that our kids understand that this is the only place they want to be, this is the only program they want to be a part of, and they can get everything they want out of academics and athletics being here at Duke. That's going to take work, that's going to take time, but we want to make sure that we first and foremost protect our own home and that we don't lose anybody. I think the transfer portal nowadays in college football is a tool. I think you'd be naïve to not utilize it in some way. We certainly don't want to make a living in there, we certainly don't want to overdo it and we certainly don't want to bring anyone into this campus who doesn't align with this campus' core values. But it will obviously be something that we utilize, and I think that's part of modern-day college football. The NIL is a touchy thing right now, it really is. It kind of got thrust on us this fall. I don't think anybody was really ready for it, but it's certainly an opportunity and there's things out there that we're going to have to be able to take advantage of to make sure we are providing the correct and proper exposure for our student-athletes to make sure that they can take full advantage of those opportunities."

On recruiting based on Duke's well-known brand:
"Yeah, the picture is very simple. I can get on the phone with any kid across this country and I can talk to him and say, 'what does Duke mean to you?' And in about 30 seconds, I'll figure out if he's the right fit for us, and if he's the right fit for us, we can recruit him against any school in the country, because there is no school in the country that matches our balance of academics and athletics, there's none. There's none that gives them the opportunity to compete in the ACC, there's none that gives them the quality of academic education that we have in the classroom. So, as long as Duke resonates and as long as the concept of what Duke can provide for a young man resonates with that kid and that family, we can recruit against anybody."

On his message to the current team and vision for them:
"It was really simple. What we've done in the past means nothing. What we did last year means nothing today. This all starts fresh starting today and that's the first thing I said to them when I got in front of them. We're going to win with this group as fast as we possibly can. We don't have a vision of the future, we don't have a vision of this long term rebuild, we have a vision of what this program looked like not too long ago when they went to six bowls in seven years and played in the ACC Championship game. That's the vision we have as we're coming into this program and that's what we want these kids to see."

On Duke's recent success changing his opinion of the program:
"I don't know if it necessarily changed my opinion, because I haven't been following it quite as long as maybe you have, it is my opinion. When I came into the ACC, I did a lot of research going into that season and I was watching a Duke team that came off an ACC Championship appearance. I came here in 2014 and played a Duke team that was extremely talented, extremely physical and they beat us all over the field. So, my experience with Duke is just that. It's a team that's competing for bowl games, it's a team that's competing to be at the top of our division and it's a team that's doing things at a really high level on the football field. Obviously, I'm aware, I'm not naïve to what Duke football may have been in the past, but this indoor wasn't there. There was a track around the football field. We didn't have that great tower. We didn't have this great practice complex. So, there's a lot of things about Duke right now that are not the same as Duke 15 years ago and that's a winning tradition a little bit over the recent history too."

On the game day experience and plans for the future:
"I just think we have to make ourselves available. I think we have to make people understand that they can control where this program goes, sometimes as much as we can. You've got to get in on the ground floor and we've got to do this together. We can't become a great football program without fan support We can't become everything that we are capable of being as a program without people coming out and supporting our team, and it's just going to be about spreading that message and just inform people that now is the time to jump on board and come be a part of this program. We will make you proud, I promise. We will get this thing where you guys want it to go, to where that experience when you do show up on Saturday's is everything you hoped it would be and it's a lot of fun being out there."

“according to an article on goduke.com”