David Elson (born August 26, 1971) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach. He is the linebackers coach, and was previously a

quality control coach A quality control coach is a member of the coaching staff of a gridiron football team whose primary job is preparing the team for a game, beginning sometimes two or three weeks before the actual game. Their primary duties include preparing for the ...

, at

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

, a position he has held since 2021. Elson served as head football coach at

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtow ...

(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 Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athleti ...

(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 athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participa ...

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 is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

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 Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

running backs coach

Willie Taggart Willie Author Taggart (born August 27, 1976) is an American football college coach. He has held the head coach position at five NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision programs: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football, Western Kentucky (2009 to ...

replaced him. In March 2010,

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

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 home rule-class city and the county seat of Warren County, Kentucky, United States. Founded by pioneers in 1798, Bowling Green was the provisional capital of Confederate Kentucky during the American Civil War. As of the 2 ...

. 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, formerly ...

. 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 based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...

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

Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU or SIUC) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois. Founded in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. The university enrolls students from all 50 s ...

, 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 respons ...

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.

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 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