Mike Elko adds Texas A&M assistant to Duke football staff as defensive ends coach

Mike Elko has now added three assistant coaches to his Duke football staff. All three are on the defensive side of the ball.

Harland Bower, 33, who was an assistant at Texas A&M this season, is the Blue Devils’ new defensive ends coach. Bower was a defensive analyst this season for the Aggies where he worked under Elko, who was the team’s defensive coordinator prior to being hired as Duke’s head coach on Dec. 10.

Bower, South Alabama’s defensive line coach from 2018-2020, also worked under Elko in 2017 as a graduate assistant coach at Notre Dame when Elko was the Fighting Irish’s defensive coordinator.

Brower’s coaching resume dates back to 2010 and includes stops at Georgia Military College (defensive backs, assistant strength and conditioning coach, 2010), Murray State (assistant strength and conditioning coach, 2011), Rutgers (quality control coach, 2012), Troy (graduate assistant, 2013) and Central Arkansas (outside linebackers, 2014-15), in addition to his time at South Alabama and Texas A&M.

At Duke, Bower will work under Robb Smith, who was hired as the program’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach on Wednesday.

During the 2021 season Smith led a Rutgers defense that allowed just 24.6 points per game. The Blue Devils, meanwhile, are coming off a season where they finished last in the ACC by allowing 39.8 points per game and giving up a league-worst 517.6 yards per game.

That’s a big reason why Duke went 3-9, including 0-8 in ACC play, leading to head coach David Cutcliffe and his staff being replaced this month.

Lyle Hemphill, Wake Forest’s defensive coordinator this season, has been hired to coach Duke’s safeties.

This story was originally published December 30, 2021 at 10:11 AM.