Notre Dame Football: Clark Lea tapped to fill big shoes of Mike Elko

Notre Dame football has promoted linebackers coach Clark Lea to replace outgoing defensive coordinator Mike Elko.

As Notre Dame football DC Mike Elko made the move to Texas A&M, the Irish seemed to have lost a great coordinator. A huge part of Notre Dame’s 10-3 successful season was due to the improvements made in the defense by Elko. With the news of him leaving the Irish looked inward for their new coordinator.

Linebackers coach Clark Lea was promoted to Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator, and will continue coaching linebackers.

Lea came to Notre Dame a year ago as he followed Elko from Wake Forest. Building his resume, Lea coached most recently at UCLA, Bowling Green, Syracuse and of course Wake Forest. Every stop for him was as a linebackers coach, this will be his first stint as a defensive coordinator.

So how will Lea step up to the plate? As the fourth defensive coordinator for the Irish in the last three seasons, it’s not an ideal situation for Notre Dame. But after coaching behind Elko, Notre Dame’s defensive scheme might not change that much. It is likely that Notre Dame will continue to run their 4-2-5 base defense that the players grew accustomed to this season.

Current linebacker success

One of the biggest jumps this season on the defensive end was the production from the linebackers. The linebacker group of Te’von Coney, Drue Tranquill, Nyles Morgan and Greer Martini, racked up at least 75-tackles. Notre Dame has never found that much success in school history.

The biggest jump out of his linebacker group was Coney. He led Notre Dame in tackles with 116 as well as tackles for loss with 13.5. In the Citrus Bowl, Coney stepped up to another level. The linebacker recorded a career-best 17 tackles in the 21-17 victory over LSU.

Many were relieved when they heard that Drue Tranquill will be returning for another season. After making the move to linebacker from safety, he flourished in Lea’s system. Tranquill accumulated 85 tackles and three fumble recoveries this season.

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Lea has already found a lot of success at Notre Dame and seems to be the best decision after the departure of Elko. Current players and recruits can feel comfortable knowing that not much will change as Lea makes the step up.