Coaches / Position coach / David Elson
Career
55
not coaching now
Rating59recent
Peak72best 5 yrs
Career55whole career
confidence
David Elson
Defensive Assistant · Louisville
Headline rating: as position coach · defensive backs. Every role he has been rated in is below.
Chemistry
—
index in development
Seasons here1
Programs5
Stints5
Career path
Head-coaching stints since 1936; assistant roles since 2016
As head coach
Rating28Peak28Career55
2007–2009 · 3 seasonsRecord 9-27National titles 0Great seasons 0 (top ~7% of all teams that year)Career: too early to rank all-time (8+ seasons as a head coach)
- Rating 28: his whole career, recent seasons weighted most, measured as how far his teams stood above their era, crediting him with half of what each program already was when he arrived (about the share that, historically, follows a coach to his next job), fading as the program becomes his own.
- Peak 28: best five-season stretch, 2007–2009 at Western Kentucky (9-27), taking over an average program.
Rating = who he is: his whole head-coaching career (since 1936), weighted toward recent years — how far his teams stood above their contemporaries, how much he lifted programs, his great seasons and titles. Form = the last two seasons. Career = the all-time ranking number.
| Season | Team | Record | Season rank | vs contemporaries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Western Kentucky | 0-12 | #116 | -1.89 SD |
| 2008 | Western Kentucky | 2-10 | #118 | -1.86 SD |
| 2007 | Western Kentucky | 7-5 | #101 | -1.20 SD |
Season rank = his team among all major-college teams that year; vs contemporaries = how far above the average team (in standard deviations).
As defensive coordinator
Rating49Peak49
His defense against its preseason projection (value over expectation) and the unit's opponent-adjusted quality.
| Season | Team | Unit (EPA/play) | Over expectation | Season score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Ball State | -0.04 | -0.01 | -0.28 |
| 2018 | Ball State | -0.11 | -0.01 | -0.66 |
| 2017 | Ball State | -0.16 | -0.13 | -1.94 |
Season score: 0 = an average season in this role; positive = better.