As reports are surfacing about FSU offensive coordinator James Coley likely to join Mark Stoops at Kentucky, there is also a possiblity that Seminoles’ defensive ends coach D.J. Eliot may move to Lexington as well.
Kentucky: Sources tell us that Mark Stoops would like to have FSU defensive ends coach D.J. Eliot go with him to Kentucky (likely as defensive coordinator). Am told this isn’t a done deal at this time. Jimbo would love to keep him as well. Will update.
Here is Eliot’s profile from the Florida State website:
The Eliot File
Birthdate: August 14, 1976
Hometown:Edmond, OK
High School: Edmond Memorial
College: Wyoming
Family: wife, Miekel; son, Dawson; daughters, Drue and Page.
Coaching Background
•D.J. Eliot completed his 14th season of collegiate coaching in 2011 and heads into his third season with the Seminoles in 2012.
•Eliot has already made his mark, tutoring the players who have helped return FSU to its place among programs with elite pass rushers. Brandon Jenkins, Bjoern Werner and Cornellius Carradine became one of the top defensive end trios in 2011 combining for 20.5 sacks, 31 tackles for loss, 14 quarterback hurries and nine pass breakups. For the second consecutive season, the Seminoles ranked among the top 10 national leaders in both sacks and tackles for loss. Eliot’s defensive ends accounted for 51 percent of the team’s sacks and 36 percent of the tackles for loss. FSU allowed its opponents to run for an average of just 2.35 yards per carry, which led the nation. The Seminoles ranked fourth nationally in total defense (275.0), second in rushing defense (82.69), fourth in scoring defense (15.1), eighth in tackles for loss (8.62) and tied for eighth in sacks (3.08 per game).
•In his first season at Florida State in 2010, Eliot’s defensive ends were one of the most improved units in all of college football. He and defensive tackles coach Odell Haggins put together one of the nation’s top defensive fronts. Led by Jenkins – an All-ACC first team selection, the Seminoles tied for the national lead with 48 sacks, ranked third with a 3.4 sacks per game and tied for 11th in total tackles for loss. Jenkins totaled 13.5 sacks and 21.5 tackles for loss to rank among the national leaders in both categories. He also was instrumental in the development of right end Markus White, who doubled his production from his junior to senior year and was a seventh round pick of the Washington Redskins in 2011.
•Eliot came to Tallahassee from Rice in 2010, where he spent three seasons as the recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach. At Rice, Eliot had oversight of the recruiting process; a challenge given the schools’ stringent academic standards. He identified and helped develop two true freshmen defensive ends – Scott Solomon (63 tackles) and Cheta Ozougwu (61) – who led all CUSA linemen with 124 combined tackles. They combined for 21 tackles for loss and 11 sacks.
• Eliot was a member of the 2008 Rice staff which guided the Owls to a 10-3 record, capped by a Texas Bowl victory over Western Michigan. It was the program’s first 10-win season since 1949 and first bowl triumph since the 1950 Cotton Bowl.
•He is one of three FSU assistants who spent time on the coaching staff at the University of Miami, where he served as a graduate assistant working with defensive backs and special teams in 2002. Mark Stoops was the Hurricanes’ secondary coach while Eliot was with the Hurricanes. Eddie Gran also did a graduate assistant stint at Miami a decade earlier.
• Eliot earned his first full-time position at Texas State under David Bailiff, coaching defensive backs one season before a two-year stint with the linebackers. Texas State won the Division I-AA Southland Conference in ’05 and qualified for the postseason. Bailiff later hired Eliot to join his staff at Rice.
• Eliot’s coaching career also led to a season as the linebackers coach at Tulsa, where he was instrumental in developing CUSA Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bunting as well as standouts Nelson Coleman and Chris Chamberlin. Tulsa earned a berth in the Armed Forces Bowl.
• On the field. Eliot played linebacker for three seasons at Wyoming before injuries led him to a place on the Cowboys’ coaching staff as a student assistant for what would have been his senior season. He moved into a graduate assistant role in 1999 after earning his undergraduate degree in natural science and was a zoology minor.
Eliot’s Coaching Ledger
Year School Position W-L Postseason
1998 Wyoming SA 8-3
1999 Wyoming GA 7-4
2000 Houston GA 3-8
2001 Houston GA 0-11
2002 Miami (Fla.) GA 12-1 Fiesta
2003 Texas State DB 4-8
2004 Texas State LB 5-6
2005 Texas State LB 11-3 NCAA I-AA
2006 Tulsa LB 8-5 Arned Forces
2007 Rice RC/DL 3-9
2008 Rice RC/DL 10-3 Texas
2009 Rice RC/DL 2-10
2010 Florida State DE 10-4 Chick-fil-A
2011 Florida State DE 9-4 Champs Sports
