In a move with ramifications beyond replacing Shaun Nua as Michigan’s defensive line coach, it seems Note Dame DL coach, and Michigan alumnus Mike Elston is (finally) being called home, Irish Illustrated’s Tom Loy reports.
BREAKING: #NotreDame defensive line coach Mike Elston is expected to leave South Bend for the same position at #Michigan.
Story: https://t.co/8wNGFam7cJ#IrishIllustrated @247Sports pic.twitter.com/xMDtaDNZRk Tom Loy (@TomLoy247) January 13, 2022
Yes, we look askance around here when Loy reports something good for Notre Dame is about to happen. But he’s usually not wrong about things that are not what Notre Dame fans want to happen, and this certainly qualifies. Elston is a loooooong-time Brian Kelly assistant and recruiting coordinator, earning the role of associate head coach last year, and surprising many when he didn’t follow Kelly to LSU.
The timing of this has ramifications, of course, for Michigan’s hopes of retaining their head coach, as Jim Harbau
As broken this morning by Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports and confirmed by Steve Lorenz and Josh Henschke, it appears DL coach Shaun Nua will accept the same job at USC. Nua took some heat for the state of the DTs under Don Brown but emphatically turned that around in the last year, both on the recruiting trail and in the development of Mazi Smith, Chris Hinton, Donovan Jeter, and Kris Jenkins.
Off-field analyst Ryan Osborn, who’s been heavily involved with the defensive ends over the course of the development of Kwity Paye, Aidan Hutchinson, and David Ojabo, would seem like a logical replacement. While losing a well-liked and respected position coach to a lateral move isn’t great, having a ready replacement on hand makes it an easier pill to swallow.
It’s probably more surprising that the staff has remained mostly intact this offseason after the year they all had. Michigan managed to sweat out the coaching carousel without losing Broyles winner Josh Gattis, Special Teams Coordinator