Brian Kelly has filled the last open coaching position at Notre Dame with former Iowa State defensive backs coach Bobby Elliott. Elliott has some ties to the current Irish coaching staff and rounds out the new hires to replace those three departed Irish coaches from the 2011 season.
This would appear to be the last coaching hire for the 2012 season. Coach Kelly promoted Scott Booker to fill one spot and hired Harry Hiestand to fill another, while the Elliott hire makes it three.
It’s not quite clear yet exactly what role Elliott will have on the Irish staff. Releases from such sources as Blue and Gold Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune state no specific title for him. When considering Elliott’s background if he were a recruit, he’d be classified as an athlete (ATH) because he can and has coached a variety of positions.
In the early 1970s, Elliott was a three-year letterman as a defensive back at Iowa. He worked there as a graduate assistant in 1976 and went on to coach the secondary at Kent State (1977) and Ball State (1978-79) before becoming the defensive coordinator at Ball State (1980).
In 1981, Elliott was hired as the secondary coach at Iowa State and has had three separate stints with the Cyclones. In between, he made stops as a wide receivers coach at North Carolina, an assistant head coach and a defensive coordinator, both at Iowa under Hayden Fry and at Kansas State under Bill Snyder. He also spent time as an assistant head coach and wide receivers coach at San Diego State.
Elliott is Coach Kelly’s second hire (Harry Hiestand being the first) from outside, but he’s not without ties to the current Notre Dame staff. Irish defensive coordinator Bob Diaco was a linebacker at Iowa, where Elliott was his coach. Co-defensive coordinator Kerry Cooks also played for Elliott as a defensive back at Iowa. What’s more, Elliott has coached with wide receivers coach Tony Alford, while both were at Iowa State.
Irish Sports Daily has a nice article on Elliott in which it states that he has been coaching for 33 years and is considered a top-notch teacher of the game with high character. ISD also mentions that Elliott is an outstanding recruiter with strong ties to the Midwest.
Hear that, Urban Meyer? Strong ties to the Midwest.
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