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D. J. Eliot – CU defensive coordinator and linebackers coach
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… Press release from CUBuffs.com …
University of Colorado head coach Mike MacIntyre announced Thursday the hiring of D.J. Eliot as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the Buffaloes.
Eliot, who will arrive in town Friday in time for Colorado’s recruiting weekend, has a proposed three-year contract agreement that will be submitted for review and approval by the CU Board of Regents.
Eliot, 40, joins the Colorado staff from the University of Kentucky, where he was the Wildcats’ defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the last four seasons (2013-16) and helped coach UK to the 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl, the program’s first postseason appearance since 2010.
He is a native of Edmond, Okla., who played collegiately at the University of Wyoming, and brings a total of 18 years of coaching experience to the Buffaloes. He replaces Jim Leavitt, who served in the same role for the last two seasons in Boulder before accepting a similar position at the University of Oregon.
“I’m excited about having D.J. Eliot as our defensive coordinator, he brings a lot of expertise and energy to our defense,” MacIntyre said. “Also he is one of the great, young defensive minds in the game of college football today.”
“I am very excited to work at a great program with an excellent head coach and at a place that has always been special to me and my family,” said Eliot, whose wife is from Westminster and graduated from Northglenn High School.
Eliot’s defense at Kentucky was the same schematically as CU’s last season when the Buffs ranked No. 2 in the Pac-12 in total defense.
“We are a 3-4 system that is built to apply pressure on the offense and confuse the quarterback,” Eliot said of his system.
A linebacker himself back in his playing days up north at Wyoming, Eliot over his coaching career has tutored many defensive players to numerous accolades and a future in the National Football League.
At his past two coaching stops, Kentucky and Florida State, he coached eight players who were drafted in the NFL, including a pair of first round picks. Linebacker Bud Dupree was a 2015 first round selection of the Pittsburg Steelers, Kentucky’s first player selected in the first round in 12 years, and Bjoern Werner out of Florida State went No. 24 overall to Indianapolis after playing under Eliot when he was coaching defensive ends for the Seminoles.
Werner is one of two conference defensive players of the year and All-Americans on Eliot’s resume, collecting the ACC honor in 2012 when he was a unanimous All-American. The first was linebacker Nick Bunting, the 2006 Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year at Tulsa, Eliot’s one season at the school. Brandon Jenkins, a fifth round pick of the Washington Redskins in 2013, exited school at Florida State ranking ninth in school history in career sacks (22.5). He was a preseason All-American entering his senior year before missing the majority of 2012 with a Lisfranc injury.
Overall at Kentucky, he coached 11 Wildcats who earned All-SEC recognition and in three of his four years with the school one of his linebackers recorded over 100 tackles in a season. Avery Williams, currently on the Tennessee Titans roster, was the first in 2013 with 102 tackles and Josh Forrest, now with the Los Angeles Rams, topped that in 2014 with 110 tackles, a figure that ranked No. 3 in the SEC that season.
Eliot got his start in coaching along the Rocky Mountain Front Range at his alma mater, Wyoming, as a graduate assistant in 1999. From there he went to the University of Houston as a graduate assistant for two years before landing in a similar position at Miami for the 2002 season; the Hurricanes went 12-0 and were ranked No. 1 at the end of the regular season before falling 31-24 in double overtime to Ohio State in the BCS National Championship Game.
That 2002 campaign at Miami is one of many highly accomplished seasons Eliot has seen in his career. In his second of three seasons at Rice, he helped the Owls go 10-3 and win the 2008 Texas Bowl, the programs first bowl win since 1950 and first 10-win season since 1949.
Eliot helped lead a defensive turnaround at Texas State, as the Bobcat defense went from giving up 34.8 points per game to only 20.3. Texas State also dropped from allowing 394.6 yards per game to 313.9.
His presence at Florida State also helped lead a revival of FSU’s defense. The year prior to his arrival, the Seminoles ranked 108th in total defense and rushing defense. However, by 2012, FSU ranked second nationally in total defense (254.1 yards per game) and sixth in scoring defense (14.7 points per game).
In his three seasons at Florida State, the ‘Noles went 31-10 and he helped FSU tie for the national lead in sacks with 48 in 2010. In his second season FSU limited opponents to just 2.35 yards per carry, which led the nation in that category. His defensive ends on the 2012 team, Werner and Cornellius Carradine, combined for 24 quarterback sacks and 31 tackles for losses overall when FSU finished 12-2.
At Kentucky, the Wildcats set a new school record for defensive touchdowns scored in a season with six in 2014; UK recorded 23 takeaways that year. UK jumped 45 places in the total defense rankings from 2013 to 2014 under Eliot, finishing in the top half of the nation in that statistic. In 2015, UK ranked 28th in the FBS in passing defense by giving up only 198.1 yards per game, the schools best pass defense in five years.
This past fall, sophomore Jordan Jones became the first player in UK history to have at least 100 tackles, 14.0 tackles for a loss and 4.0 sacks, all of which came during the season when he garnered second-team All-SEC honors by the AP and league coaches. Sophomore safety Mike Edwards finished the regular season leading all SEC defensive backs in tackles with 93 and tied for the team lead in interceptions with three, including two off Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson in the Cats’ 41-38 victory over No. 11 Louisville.
Eliot graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Natural Science from Wyoming in 1999 and in 2002 he earned a master’s degree in Education at Houston. He and his wife, Miekel, have one son, Dawson, and three daughters, Drue, Page and Reace.
Spring football for the Buffs starts on Wednesday, Feb. 22 and will conclude on Saturday, March 18 with the annual spring game.
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D.J. Eliot‘s Coaching History
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NFL Draft Selections Under D.J. Eliot
– 2016 – OLB Josh Forrest, 6th Round (190th overall), Los Angeles Rams
– 2015 – OLB Bud Dupree, 1st Round (22nd overall), Pittsburgh Steelers
– 2015 – OLB Za’Darius Smith, 4th Round (122nd overall), Baltimore Ravens
– 2014 – LB Avery Williamson, 5th Round (151st overall), Tennessee Titans
– 2013 – DE Bjoern Werner, 1st Round (24th overall), Indianapolis Colts
– 2013 – DE Tank Carradine, 2nd Round (40th overall), San Francisco 49ers
– 2013 – LB Brandon Jenkins, 5th Round (162nd overall), Washington Redskins
– 2011 – DE Markus White, 7th Round (224 overall), Washington Redskins
– 2011 – DE Cheta Ozougwu, 7th Round (254th overall), Houston Texans
– 2012 – DE Scott Solomon, 7th Round (211 overall), Tennessee Titans
– 2008 – LB Chris Chamberlain, 7th Round (228th overall), St. Louis Rams
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Stuart
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D. J. Eliot – CU defensive coordinator and linebackers coach
—
… Press release from CUBuffs.com …
University of Colorado head coach Mike MacIntyre announced Thursday the hiring of D.J. Eliot as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the Buffaloes.
Eliot, who will arrive in town Friday in time for Colorado’s recruiting weekend, has a proposed three-year contract agreement that will be submitted for review and approval by the CU Board of Regents.
Eliot, 40, joins the Colorado staff from the University of Kentucky, where he was the Wildcats’ defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the last four seasons (2013-16) and helped coach UK to the 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl, the program’s first postseason appearance since 2010.
He is a native of Edmond, Okla., who played collegiately at the University of Wyoming, and brings a total of 18 years of coaching experience to the Buffaloes. He replaces Jim Leavitt, who served in the same role for the last two seasons in Boulder before accepting a similar position at the University of Oregon.
“I’m excited about having D.J. Eliot as our defensive coordinator, he brings a lot of expertise and energy to our defense,” MacIntyre said. “Also he is one of the great, young defensive minds in the game of college football today.”
“I am very excited to work at a great program with an excellent head coach and at a place that has always been special to me and my family,” said Eliot, whose wife is from Westminster and graduated from Northglenn High School.
Eliot’s defense at Kentucky was the same schematically as CU’s last season when the Buffs ranked No. 2 in the Pac-12 in total defense.
“We are a 3-4 system that is built to apply pressure on the offense and confuse the quarterback,” Eliot said of his system.
A linebacker himself back in his playing days up north at Wyoming, Eliot over his coaching career has tutored many defensive players to numerous accolades and a future in the National Football League.
At his past two coaching stops, Kentucky and Florida State, he coached eight players who were drafted in the NFL, including a pair of first round picks. Linebacker Bud Dupree was a 2015 first round selection of the Pittsburg Steelers, Kentucky’s first player selected in the first round in 12 years, and Bjoern Werner out of Florida State went No. 24 overall to Indianapolis after playing under Eliot when he was coaching defensive ends for the Seminoles.
Werner is one of two conference defensive players of the year and All-Americans on Eliot’s resume, collecting the ACC honor in 2012 when he was a unanimous All-American. The first was linebacker Nick Bunting, the 2006 Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year at Tulsa, Eliot’s one season at the school. Brandon Jenkins, a fifth round pick of the Washington Redskins in 2013, exited school at Florida State ranking ninth in school history in career sacks (22.5). He was a preseason All-American entering his senior year before missing the majority of 2012 with a Lisfranc injury.
Overall at Kentucky, he coached 11 Wildcats who earned All-SEC recognition and in three of his four years with the school one of his linebackers recorded over 100 tackles in a season. Avery Williams, currently on the Tennessee Titans roster, was the first in 2013 with 102 tackles and Josh Forrest, now with the Los Angeles Rams, topped that in 2014 with 110 tackles, a figure that ranked No. 3 in the SEC that season.
Eliot got his start in coaching along the Rocky Mountain Front Range at his alma mater, Wyoming, as a graduate assistant in 1999. From there he went to the University of Houston as a graduate assistant for two years before landing in a similar position at Miami for the 2002 season; the Hurricanes went 12-0 and were ranked No. 1 at the end of the regular season before falling 31-24 in double overtime to Ohio State in the BCS National Championship Game.
That 2002 campaign at Miami is one of many highly accomplished seasons Eliot has seen in his career. In his second of three seasons at Rice, he helped the Owls go 10-3 and win the 2008 Texas Bowl, the programs first bowl win since 1950 and first 10-win season since 1949.
Eliot helped lead a defensive turnaround at Texas State, as the Bobcat defense went from giving up 34.8 points per game to only 20.3. Texas State also dropped from allowing 394.6 yards per game to 313.9.
His presence at Florida State also helped lead a revival of FSU’s defense. The year prior to his arrival, the Seminoles ranked 108th in total defense and rushing defense. However, by 2012, FSU ranked second nationally in total defense (254.1 yards per game) and sixth in scoring defense (14.7 points per game).
In his three seasons at Florida State, the ‘Noles went 31-10 and he helped FSU tie for the national lead in sacks with 48 in 2010. In his second season FSU limited opponents to just 2.35 yards per carry, which led the nation in that category. His defensive ends on the 2012 team, Werner and Cornellius Carradine, combined for 24 quarterback sacks and 31 tackles for losses overall when FSU finished 12-2.
At Kentucky, the Wildcats set a new school record for defensive touchdowns scored in a season with six in 2014; UK recorded 23 takeaways that year. UK jumped 45 places in the total defense rankings from 2013 to 2014 under Eliot, finishing in the top half of the nation in that statistic. In 2015, UK ranked 28th in the FBS in passing defense by giving up only 198.1 yards per game, the schools best pass defense in five years.
This past fall, sophomore Jordan Jones became the first player in UK history to have at least 100 tackles, 14.0 tackles for a loss and 4.0 sacks, all of which came during the season when he garnered second-team All-SEC honors by the AP and league coaches. Sophomore safety Mike Edwards finished the regular season leading all SEC defensive backs in tackles with 93 and tied for the team lead in interceptions with three, including two off Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson in the Cats’ 41-38 victory over No. 11 Louisville.
Eliot graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Natural Science from Wyoming in 1999 and in 2002 he earned a master’s degree in Education at Houston. He and his wife, Miekel, have one son, Dawson, and three daughters, Drue, Page and Reace.
Spring football for the Buffs starts on Wednesday, Feb. 22 and will conclude on Saturday, March 18 with the annual spring game.
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D.J. Eliot‘s Coaching History
| Year | School | Position | Postseason |
| 2017-Present | Colorado | Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers | |
| 2013-16 | Kentucky | Defensive Coordinatory/Linebackers | 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl (L) |
| 2010-12 | Florida State | Defensive Ends | 2013 Orange Bowl-BCS (W) 2011 Champs Sports Bowl (W) 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl (W) |
| 2007-09 | Rice | Recruiting Coordinator/Defensive Line | 2008 Texas Bowl (W) |
| 2006 | Tulsa | Linebackers | 2006 Armed Forces Bowl (L) |
| 2003-05 | Texas State | 2004-05 – Linebackers 2003 – Defensive Backs | 2005 NCAA Division I-AA playoffs (2-1 record; reached the semifinals) |
| 2002 | Miami (Fla.) | Graduate Assistant | BCS National Championship Game (L) |
| 2000-01 | Houston | Graduate Assistant | |
| 1999 | Wyoming | Graduate Assistant |
NFL Draft Selections Under D.J. Eliot
– 2016 – OLB Josh Forrest, 6th Round (190th overall), Los Angeles Rams
– 2015 – OLB Bud Dupree, 1st Round (22nd overall), Pittsburgh Steelers
– 2015 – OLB Za’Darius Smith, 4th Round (122nd overall), Baltimore Ravens
– 2014 – LB Avery Williamson, 5th Round (151st overall), Tennessee Titans
– 2013 – DE Bjoern Werner, 1st Round (24th overall), Indianapolis Colts
– 2013 – DE Tank Carradine, 2nd Round (40th overall), San Francisco 49ers
– 2013 – LB Brandon Jenkins, 5th Round (162nd overall), Washington Redskins
– 2011 – DE Markus White, 7th Round (224 overall), Washington Redskins
– 2011 – DE Cheta Ozougwu, 7th Round (254th overall), Houston Texans
– 2012 – DE Scott Solomon, 7th Round (211 overall), Tennessee Titans
– 2008 – LB Chris Chamberlain, 7th Round (228th overall), St. Louis Rams
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Stuart
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