Duke football snares an assistant coach from the Wake Forest staff
Mike Elko went back to his previous ACC home to add the first coach to his new staff at Duke.
Lyle Hemphill, Wake Forest’s defensive coordinator, is leaving the Demon Deacons to join Elko with the Blue Devils, the school announced Sunday night.
Elko, hired as Duke’s head coach on Dec. 10, worked at Wake Forest from 2014-16 before defensive coordinator stops at Notre Dame and Texas A&M.
The 41-year-old Hemphill will coach safeties at Duke. He coached safeties at Wake Forest beginning in 2017 before adding defensive coordinator duties with the Demon Deacons during the 2018 season.
This season, Hemphill was part of a staff that led Wake Forest to a 10-3 record and an ACC Atlantic Division championship. The Demon Deacons are scheduled to play Texas A&M in the Gator Bowl on Dec. 31 at Jacksonville, Florida. But Hemphill will start work with Duke immediately and will not coach for Wake Forest in that game.
In a statement, Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson thanked Hemphill for his “dedication” to the Demon Deacons the last five years.
“He worked tirelessly to help our young men develop on and off the field as he developed great relationships with all our players,“ Clawson said. “During this transition, our staff will collectively fill his role as Wake Forest’s defensive coordinator as we prepare for a talented Texas A&M team in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on New Year’s Eve.”
Elko and Hemphill worked together on Hofstra’s staff from 2006-08.
Elko is building a new staff at Duke after taking over for former coach David Cutcliffe, who led Duke to a 3-9 record with an 0-8 ACC record this season.
This story was originally published December 19, 2021 at 7:15 PM.