Brian Kelly adds three coaches to staff

NOTRE DAME - Brian Kelly named three coaches to his staff on Tuesday, all on the defensive side of the ball. Mike Denbrock, who coached at Notre Dame from 2002-04 under Ty Willingham, will coach Notre Dame's tight ends, former Cincinnati assistant head coach Mike Elston will work with the Irish defensive line and former Grand Valley State head coach Chuck Martin will oversee Notre Dame's defensive backs. "I¹m excited to welcome Mike Denbrock, Mike Elston and Chuck Martin to the Notre Dame coaching staff," Kelly said. "Because these guys have worked with me in the past, all three guys understand the importance of player development and we share the same philosophies for making our team better. They each will be valuable recruiters for us as we put together a staff that will be able to cover the country and attract some of the best talent available." Denbrock returns to Notre Dame where he previously coached Notre Dame’s offensive tackles and tight ends from 2002‐04. Earlier in his career he spent a combined eight seasons with Kelly at Grand Valley State. Kelly served as the Lakers’ head coach and Denbrock was on his coaching staff from 1992‐98. The two were graduate assistants together at Grand Valley State in 1987. Denbrock spent the 2009 season as the associate head coach at Indiana State. With the Sycamores, he was the special teams coordinator and also coached the linebackers. “Mike Denbrock will coach our tight ends which is a great fit because he played the position in college and has a familiarity with our offense.," said Kelly. "I always believe that anyone who has played the position brings a perspective that is hard to duplicate. Combining that with the knowledge he gained of my offensive system as a coordinator for me in the past will help make him a great coach for us." Kelly added, "Where he could really pay dividends for Notre Dame is on the recruiting trail. Mike will be our lead West Coast recruiter and that fits him well considering he has recently spent five years at schools in the Pac-10 developing relationships with high school programs. That is a competitive part of the country when it comes to recruiting and I’m excited to see him represent us out there." Mike Elston has coached with Kelly since 2004 and has coached the defensive line in three of the last six years. Elston also has been utilized the last four seasons as the special teams coordinator at Central Michigan and Cincinnati. He was also one of Cincinnati’s top recruiters and served as the Bearcats’ lead recruiter in the state of Florida. In 2009, Elston was promoted to assistant head coach at Cincinnati and also coached the Bearcats’ defensive line while coordinating the special teams. Elston’s kickoff return unit ranked second in the nation, averaging 28.5 yards per kickoff return, and only three schools returned more kickoffs for TDs than Cincinnati’s three returns. His punt return unit averaged 13.0 yards per return which ranked 17th in the nation. “Mike Elston has been with me the past six years and has seen how important it is to develop your players," said Kelly. "He knows the defensive system we plan to implement and will be a tremendous asset to our defensive linemen. Mike was also instrumental in our special teams success at Cincinnati and became one of the top special teams coaches in the country. He was our top recruiter in the state of Florida and Mike will have a prominent role in that state along with (ND running backs coach)Tony Alford. We’ll define the rest of Mike’s recruiting roles at a later time, but he will certainly assist Tony with all of the talent in Florida." Chuck Martin has been head coach at Grand Valley State since 2004. He replaced Kelly as the Lakers’ head coach after Kelly was named head coach at Central Michigan University. Under Martin’s watch, Grand Valley went 74‐7 (.914) and won the NCAA Division II national championship in 2005 and 2006. The Lakers were runners‐up in 2009. He helped guide the Lakers to five Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference championships in six years and he posted a 16‐4 record in the Division II playoffs. Martin’s .914 winning percentage was the second best among active college football coaches, regardless of division (Mount Union’s Larry Kehres owns a .925 winning percentage). A member of the Lakers coaching staff since 2000, Martin helped Grand Valley State post a 122‐13 record this decade, including winning 121 of its last 130 games. “Chuck Martin’s resume as a head coach speaks for itself. He has experienced unparalleled success and maximized his player’s ability at Grand Valley State. I expect that to continue at Notre Dame," said Kelly. "Chuck started with me as a defensive backs coach, and I was always impressed with his ability to teach the fundamentals and develop defensive backs’ technique. Since Chuck is a native Chicagoan, it only makes sense to have him serve as our lead recruiter in that area. Chicago is one of our base areas that we have to be able to recruit. Chuck knows the high school coaches in Chicago and will be a great fit there as we look to build a solid recruiting base in Chicago and the Midwest.”