via Associated Press. "Notre Dame hires Wake Forest's Elko as defensive coordinator", Chicago Tribune, December 21, 2016. Accessed January 15, 2017. "Notre Dame has hired Mike Elko as its defensive coordinator, hoping he can turn around a unit that struggled at the beginning of last season and was blamed in part for a down year for the Fighting Irish.... Brian VanGorder was fired as defensive coordinator on Sept. 25, the day after a 38-35 loss to Duke dropped Notre Dame to 1-3 in what ended up being a 4-8 season. The Irish were ranked 103rd out of 128 teams in total defense at the time, giving up 456 yards a game."
Sargeant, Keith. "Defensive coordinator with N.J. roots reportedly headed to Notre Dame | Who is Mike Elko?", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, December 16, 2016. Accessed January 15, 2017. "Mike Elko, 39, grew up in South Brunswick, starring as the high school's quarterback before heading to play linebacker at the University of Pennsylvania and then beginning a collegiate coaching career that is now in its second decade. The 1995 South Brunswick High School graduate is set to be named the defensive coordinator at Notre Dame, according to SI.com and other published reports."
Mike Elko Named Notre Dame Defensive Coordinator, Notre Dame Fighting Irish football. Accessed January 15, 2017. "In 2016 at Wake Forest, Elko coordinated one of the two FBS defenses to rank in the top-20 in turnovers forced, sacks, red zone defense and scoring defense.... Wake Forest was one of four schools in the FBS to rank in the top-20 in turnovers forced, sacks and scoring defense in 2016. The other three schools -- Alabama, Clemson and Washington -- qualified for the College Football Playoff."
