Mike Elston doesn't like to move around.
In today's world of coaching, assistants around the country find themselves at a variety of schools with many positions before ultimately settling in.
Lane Kiffin is the obvious choice, but take P.J. Fleck as an example.
Before joining the Big Ten as Minnesota's head coach, Fleck spent 10 years with six different jobs across two leagues, spending one year as a wide receivers coach with the Buccanneers and eventually becoming Western Michigan's head coach.
For some, the volatile change year-to-year is worth it; moving your family from one coast to the next every winter? Sure.
Eventually, you'll settle. Right?
Elston is 47 years old with 21 years of experience as a full-time Division I assistant coach. He's never been a head coach or a coordinator despite clearly carrying the credentials.
One of many former Wolverines who work inside Schembechler Hall, Elston, the defensive line coach & recruiting coordinator, carries the same role in Ann Arbor as he did in South Bend.
When Brian Kelly back-doored Notre Dame for LSU, Jim Harbaugh & Michigan dialed his number, and Elston, alongside his wife & three daughters, decided to return and make his first move since 2010.
"I've coached a lot of different positions and enjoyed every one of them. But none more than I enjoy being the defensive line coach. Part of the reason for making a move like I made is to be a part of a conference. I think that was a big missing piece," Elston said in an exclusive interview with Maize & Blue Review. "And I enjoy the chase for a conference title, along with being back home & my Michigan roots."
Elston played linebacker in Ann Arbor from 1993-1996, playing for both Gary Moeller & Lloyd Carr during his time at Michigan.
Why did he choose U-M the first time?
"I've always felt that I made the decision in recruiting based on the people & the coaching staff: Gary Moeller, Lloyd Carr, Jim Herman, & those guys were on staff here. Gary was the head coach, the ultimate man of character. I wanted to be around that. I enjoyed the players that were here at the time during my visits. I loved coming to the games; loved the environment & the atmosphere," he said. "Then while I was here, it justified & validated it. They're building men of character here, and I want to be a part of that."
Here he is, now a coach, and a key influencer in the defensive coaching room & the recruiting room overall.
Waiting no time, Elston's first defensive line is exceeding expectations. After Aidan Hutchinson & David Ojabo left, so did defensive line coach Shaun Nua, leaving his replacement with bare cupboards.
Of course, the defensive line room had promising talent, and Elston is elevating it, proving to be Michigan's best developer in that position room since long-time assistant Greg Mattison.
Replacing two of the most prolific pass rushers in program history & three starters across the d-line, Michigan has the 8th-highest graded (82.8) pass rush in college football.
Mike Morris was good before, but under Elston's tutelage, he's the defense's MVP through the first seven games.
Reflecting back on last winter when he took the job, Elston recalls showing up to Ann Arbor, where he hadn't worked in 22 years, knowing exactly where he was.
"It felt great. Back home. It was when I pulled onto campus for the first time. It's very nostalgic, you know, I hadn't been back to campus in a very long time," Elston explained. "My first night was staying at The Graduate, which was the old Campus Inn, and that's where we stayed as a football team. So every little detail was coming back to me, and then going on campus and seeing the buildings for the first time and 20-plus years. And then coming into Schembechler Hall, which has changed a lot, but a lot of similarities.
"It was awesome. It was very nostalgic & surreal."
Back like he never left, the nostalgia brought the former linebacker chills.
"Running out the tunnel for the first time in the first game, being in the locker room for the pregame, and then running out the tunnel. I wasn't expecting to feel the goosebumps like I did. That was pretty neat."
It's easy for Elston to give in to the emotions surrounding the place that birthed his coaching career, provided him with mentors, and introduced him to adulthood.
"The great thing about Michigan is you're not going to change Michigan. Michigan is going to change you. And so you're developing as you get here. And if you work against that, then you won't take the strides that you need to develop as a young man," he said. "But if you're open-minded and you can you have a growth mindset, then you know, this place will change. And you'll develop into the young man that you need to be."
Forged by the coaches before him & around him, Elston is a bit of a unicorn in college football's sporadic coaching carousel.
Completely invested in his job in Ann Arbor, Elston isn't thinking about his next move; if he can be a head coach, or if he can be a coordinator.
Jim Harbaugh's 2022 coaching staff consists of numerous assistants poised to be future head coaches. Sherrone Moore, Mike Hart, Jay Harbaugh, Grant Newsome, and Steve Clinkscale, among others, have the profile & trajectories to eventually lead a program.
So does Elston, but he doesn't like to move around, and it doesn't look like he will anytime soon.
"I would love to stay here. I just moved my family. I'm a family guy if you don't know. But, I made a move, and I hadn't made a move in 12 years. I'm looking to stay here for a while just to make sure that my daughters can get through school."
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