Mark Elder (American football)

Mark Elder (born December 10, 1977) is an American football coach. He was the head football coach at Eastern Kentucky University from 2016 until 2019. Prior to his tenure at Eastern Kentucky, Elder was an assistant coach at the University of Tennessee.[1]

Mark Elder
Elder at Eastern Kentucky press conference
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamMoeller HS (OH)
ConferenceGCL South
Record0–0
Biographical details
Born (1977-12-10) December 10, 1977
Cincinnati, Ohio
Playing career
1996–1999Case Western Reserve
Position(s)Safety
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2000–2001Akron (GA)
2002Lehigh (assistant LB)
2003Iona (DC/LB)
2004Wayne State (MI) (DC/LB)
2005Michigan (def. QC)
2006Michigan (GA)
2007–2009Central Michigan (LB/PR)
2010Cincinnati (TE/RC)
2011Cincinnati (RB/PR)
2012Cincinnati (ST/DB)
2013–2015Tennessee (ST/TE)
2016–2019Eastern Kentucky
2020–presentMoeller HS (OH)
Head coaching record
Overall21–24 (college)
0–0 (high school)

Biography

Elder graduated from Sycamore High School in 1996, and played football at Case Western Reserve.[2] He began his coaching career with stops at Akron, Lehigh, Iona, Wayne State (MI), and Michigan before he was hired as an assistant football coach at Central Michigan by head coach Butch Jones.[2] When Jones was named head coach at Cincinnati in 2010, Elder was named as an assistant.[3] Elder subsequently followed Jones to Tennessee as an assistant coach in 2013.[4]

On December 8, 2015, it was reported that Elder was to be named head football coach at Eastern Kentucky University.[5] He was formally introduced at a press conference on December 10, 2015.[6] When he began his duties as head coach, he also continued to serve as an assistant coach at Tennessee through the completion of the Outback Bowl.[7]

In four years at EKU, Elder recorded four straight top-25 rated recruiting classes. In 2018, he led the program to a 7–4 record, recording their most wins since the 2014 season.[8]

Prior to the 2019 season, the Elder-led Colonels were named to preseason Top 25 lists by Lindy's Sports[9] and Hero Sports.[10] Additionally, Elder was named as a leading preseason candidate for the Eddie Robinson Award, given to the national coach of the year at the FCS level.[11]

Elder's contract at EKU was not renewed after finishing 7-4 and 7-5 in his final two seasons and failing to make the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.[12]

On December 19, 2019, Elder returned to his hometown of Cincinnati to become the new head coach at Moeller HS.[13]

Personal life

Elder and his wife, Lindsey, have two sons, Owen and Ellis, and one daughter, Lila.[14]

Head coaching record

College
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs
Eastern Kentucky Colonels (Ohio Valley Conference) (2016–2019)
2016 Eastern Kentucky 3–82–68th
2017 Eastern Kentucky 4–73–55th
2018 Eastern Kentucky 7–45–23rd
2019 Eastern Kentucky 7–55–34th
Eastern Kentucky: 21–2415–16
Total:21–24

References
  1. "The official athletics website for the Eastern Kentucky University Colonels". EKUsports.com. April 8, 2019. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
  2. "Sycamore grad takes over EKU football". Cincinnati.com. July 11, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  3. "Butch Jones fills Cincinnati coaching staff with CMU assistants". MLive.com. January 9, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  4. "Jones Announces Coaching Staff". University of Tennessee Athletics. December 13, 2012. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  5. "Tennessee Vols football: Mark Elder to be named EKU head coach". SI.com. December 10, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
  6. "'Humbled' Mark Elder introduced as new Eastern Kentucky football coach". Lexington Herald Leader. December 10, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  7. "Double duty: Mark Elder splits time between Vols and new job". Times Free Press. December 20, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  8. "Eastern Kentucky University Athletics". EKUsports.com. April 8, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  9. "EKU Football Ranked 25th Nationally In Lindy's Preseason FCS Poll". EKUsports.com. June 3, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  10. "FCS: 2019 HERO Sports Preseason Top 25". EKUsports.com. June 4, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  11. "FCS College Football: 5 Favorites for the 2019 Eddie Robinson Award". AthlonSports.com. July 15, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  12. "Mark Elder out as Eastern Kentucky football coach". Lexington Herald-Leader. November 25, 2019. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  13. Dyer, Mike (December 19, 2019). "Moeller High School names Mark Elder as its new head football coach". wcpo.com. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  14. "The official athletics website for the Eastern Kentucky University Colonels". EKUsports.com. April 8, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
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