Michigan hires Notre Dame's Mike Elston to football staff

Michigan has found its replacement at the defensive line coach position.

The Maize & Blue Review confirmed Thursday afternoon that Michigan will hire Notre Dame's Mike Elston as the program's replacement for Shaun Nua, who left for USC.

Elston spent 12 years in South Bend as an on-field assistant coach, coaching the defensive line and linebackers. Throughout his tenure, he has added and removed the Recruiting Coordinator position to his list of titles.

He spent four out of his final five seasons as the program's Recruiting Coordinator, including in 2021.

Elston is no stranger to Ann Arbor, having played for the Wolverines from 1993-1996 as an outside linebacker. He would stick around at U-M as a Graduate Assistant immediately after his graduation before spending 2001-2009 at Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan, and Cincinnati.

He would travel with Brian Kelly from the Chippewas to the Bearcats and ultimately the Fighting Irish in 2010. Upon Kelly's departure to LSU this offseason, Elston opted to stay on staff at Notre Dame. But sources confirmed to TMBR's Josh Henschke earlier this week that he and head coach Jim Harbaugh had met in a non-interview setting to gauge interest. The same source confirmed his hiring shortly after the meeting.

Michigan has no vacant spots on its staff following the hiring of Elston. Whether or not he will have a recruiting tag added to his title remains unclear.

Stay tuned to The Wolverine Den for more.

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