David Elson (born August 26, 1971) is an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

coach. He is the defensive analyst at

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

, a position he has held since 2023. Elson served as head football coach at

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University (WKU) is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a few decades earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glas ...

(WKU) from 2003 to 2009. He oversaw the transition of Western Kentucky from a

Football Championship Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (F ...

(formerly known as Division I-AA) to a

Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

(formerly known as Division I-A) program, the highest division in college football; in his final season, the Hilltoppers joined the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...

Coaching career

Elson joined the Hilltoppers staff as a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

s coach in 1996. He served as

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

for the 2001 and 2002 season before he was promoted to head coach. The rise to college football's highest level was difficult for the program, and Hilltoppers went 2-20 in Elson's final two seasons. On November 9, 2009 Elson was fired by the university, finishing out the 2009 season. WKU alumnus and

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

running backs coach

Willie Taggart Willie Author Taggart (born August 27, 1976) is an American football coach who is the running backs coach for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He has held the head coach position at five NCAA Division I Football Bowl ...

replaced him. In March 2010,

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

head football coach

Bill Lynch Bill Lynch (born June 12, 1954) is a former American football coach. He was most recently the head football coach at DePauw University, a position he held in 2004 and re-assumed in December 2012 until his retirement after the 2019 season. Lynch ...

announced that Elson will be a defensive quality control coach. Coach Lynch noted this would mainly be an administrative role, but that he would be involved in coaching decisions. The Hoosiers made their first road trip of the year to play Elson's former team, the WKU Hilltoppers in

Bowling Green, Kentucky Bowling Green is a city in Warren County, Kentucky, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 72,294 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Kentucky, third-most populous city in the stat ...

. Elson spent the 2011 football season as defensive coordinator for KHSAA state finalist

Franklin-Simpson High School Franklin-Simpson High School is a high school in Franklin, Kentucky, United States. Franklin-Simpson is the only high school located in Simpson County, Kentucky. As of 2016, the school has 916 students enrolled and has 52 full-time teachers. The ...

Franklin, Kentucky Franklin is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Simpson County, Kentucky, United States. The county is located on the south central border of the state, and its population was 10,176 at the 2020 census. Kentucky Downs, formerl ...

. On January 4, 2012, Elson was announced as the defensive coordinator at

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution of higher education, and was the original land-g ...

. On January 13, 2013, Elson was announced as the new secondary coach for the

Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. Chartered in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. SIU enrolls students from all 50 sta ...

, where he was a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research resp ...

from 94 to 95. On January 20, 2016, after two years at Southern Illinois, Elson accepted the position as defensive coordinator at Western Illinois under new head coach

Charlie Fisher Charlie "Spot" Fisher (17 November 1892 – 4 Mar 1983) was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Football Fisher played in three consecutive premierships for Muckatah in the Goulburn Valley Football Associat ...

Personal life

Elson and his wife, Kathy, have three daughters.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Purdue profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elson, David 1971 births Living people American football safeties Ball State Cardinals football coaches Butler Bulldogs football players Indiana Hoosiers football coaches Marian Knights football coaches New Mexico State Aggies football coaches Purdue Boilermakers football coaches Southern Illinois Salukis football coaches Wake Forest Demon Deacons football coaches Western Illinois Leathernecks football coaches Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football coaches High school football coaches in Kentucky Coaches of American football from Indiana Players of American football from Indianapolis