Mike Ekeler
Encyclopedia
Mike Ekeler is a Co-Defensive Coordinator
and the Linebackers Coach
for the Indiana University Bloomington football team
. He previously served as Linebackers Coach
for the University of Nebraska
Cornhuskers
football team.
, a small city in east central Nebraska and graduated from Blair High School in Blair, Nebraska
in 1990.
and linebacker
. The Blair High School team won the Class B Nebraska State Championship in 1988, his junior year.
After the conclusion of his high school playing career, Ekeler played for Kansas State
as a linebacker under Bill Snyder
from 1991 to 1994, lettering in three of his four years there. Ekeler was appointed as a team captain by Snyder in 1994, and was the only player ever appointed captain by Snyder during the coach's entire seventeen-year head coaching career at Kansas State. Coincidentally, during Ekeler's first year playing at Kansas State, future fellow Nebraska Assistant Carl Pelini
was early into his coaching career, putting in his third and final year on the Kansas State coaching staff.
Ekeler concluded his time at Kansas State by obtaining his Bachelor's degree
in Social sciences
in 1995.
, Nebraska
from 1999 to 2001, and as an assistant coach at Manhattan High School
in Manhattan
, Kansas
in 2002, back in the town where he had played for Kansas State almost a decade before.
Head Coach
Bob Stoops
to join the staff as a Graduate Assistant
, working under Co-Defensive Coordinator
Bo Pelini
. Oklahoma played for the BCS Championship
in both of Ekeler's seasons at Oklahoma, while posting a two-year record of 24-3.
to work under Les Miles
beginning in 2005, Ekeler followed and continued working under Pelini as a Graduate Assistant, and success followed. In their first year, LSU finished with national top ten rankings in all defensive categories. In 2006, the LSU squad bested defensive records set in 1976 as LSU led their conference in six defensive categories and ranked nationally in four. 2007 brought even greater success, as Ekeler moved into a position as a coaching intern, and LSU rolled to a 12-2 record and won the BCS Championship, marking the third time in five years that Ekeler had been part of a team playing for the BCS title.
Bill Callahan at Nebraska. Many former Nebraska assistants who were let go upon Callahan's hire four years prior were brought back into the program, and being a Nebraska native and also a valued team member at LSU, Pelini brought Ekeler back to his home state of Nebraska, along with a promotion to Linebackers Coach
, for the 2008 season. During his three seasons in Lincoln, Nebraska's defensive units consistently ranked in the top ten nationally, and won or shared the Big 12 Conference
North Division Title all three years. Nebraska played for the league championship in 2009 and 2010, losing both by a total of only four points, and holding the opponents to a combined 36 points.
and Co-Defensive Coordinator
at Indiana by new Hoosier head football coach Kevin R. Wilson
. Ekeler will work alongside former New Mexico Defensive Coordinator Doug Mallory, who will serve as the other Indiana Co-Defensive Coordinator while also coaching the Safeties. Ekeler had previously worked with Wilson at Oklahoma for 2003 and 2004, when Wilson was the Offensive Line Coach
for the Sooners.
Defensive coordinator
A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
and the Linebackers Coach
Linebackers coach
A linebackers coach is a position coach in charge of the linebackers in gridiron football. This role is common in the CFL, NFL, and college football programs. The linebackers coach serves the defense, which is led by the defensive coordinator and works with the players of the three linebacker...
for the Indiana University Bloomington football team
Indiana Hoosiers football
The Indiana Hoosiers football program represents Indiana University Bloomington in NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football and in the Big Ten Conference.-Bowl games:...
. He previously served as Linebackers Coach
Linebackers coach
A linebackers coach is a position coach in charge of the linebackers in gridiron football. This role is common in the CFL, NFL, and college football programs. The linebackers coach serves the defense, which is led by the defensive coordinator and works with the players of the three linebacker...
for the University of Nebraska
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is a public research university located in the city of Lincoln in the U.S. state of Nebraska...
Cornhuskers
Nebraska Cornhuskers football
The Nebraska Cornhuskers represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in college football. The program has established itself as a traditional powerhouse, and has the fourth-most all-time victories of any NCAA Division I-A team. Nebraska is one of only six football programs in NCAA Division I-A...
football team.
Early life
Mike Ekeler was born in David City, NebraskaDavid City, Nebraska
David City is a city in Butler County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 2,597 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Butler County.-Geography:David City is located at ....
, a small city in east central Nebraska and graduated from Blair High School in Blair, Nebraska
Blair, Nebraska
Blair is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 7,990 at the 2000 census. Blair is a part of the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
in 1990.
Playing career
Ekeler played both sides of the ball at Blair High School, as a wide receiverWide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
and linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
. The Blair High School team won the Class B Nebraska State Championship in 1988, his junior year.
After the conclusion of his high school playing career, Ekeler played for Kansas State
Kansas State University
Kansas State University, commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States...
as a linebacker under Bill Snyder
Bill Snyder
Bill Snyder is the head football coach at Kansas State University. He was rehired to the position on November 24, 2008, making Snyder one of the rare college football head coaches to have non-consecutive tenure at the same school. Snyder previously served as head coach at the school from 1989 to...
from 1991 to 1994, lettering in three of his four years there. Ekeler was appointed as a team captain by Snyder in 1994, and was the only player ever appointed captain by Snyder during the coach's entire seventeen-year head coaching career at Kansas State. Coincidentally, during Ekeler's first year playing at Kansas State, future fellow Nebraska Assistant Carl Pelini
Carl Pelini
Carl Pelini is the Defensive Coordinator for the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers football team. He is also the older brother of Nebraska Head Coach Bo Pelini.-Early life:...
was early into his coaching career, putting in his third and final year on the Kansas State coaching staff.
Ekeler concluded his time at Kansas State by obtaining his Bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in Social sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
in 1995.
High Schools
After seven years in private business for himself, Ekeler returned to the game when he began volunteer coaching for V. J. and Angela Skutt Catholic High School in OmahaOmaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
from 1999 to 2001, and as an assistant coach at Manhattan High School
Manhattan High School
Manhattan High School is a fully accredited public high school in Manhattan, Kansas, serving students in grades 9-12. It is part of the Unified School District No. 383. For the 2010–2011 school year, Manhattan High had an enrollment of 1,984 students....
in Manhattan
Manhattan, Kansas
Manhattan is a city located in the northeastern part of the state of Kansas in the United States, at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. It is the county seat of Riley County and the city extends into Pottawatomie County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 52,281...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
in 2002, back in the town where he had played for Kansas State almost a decade before.
Oklahoma
In 2003, Ekeler's first opportunity to rise to the college ranks presented itself when he was invited by OklahomaUniversity of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
Head Coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
Bob Stoops
Bob Stoops
Robert Anthony "Bob" Stoops is the head coach of the University of Oklahoma football team. During the 2000 season, Stoops led the Sooners to an Orange Bowl victory and a national championship....
to join the staff as a Graduate Assistant
Teaching assistant
A teaching assistant is an individual who assists a professor or teacher with instructional responsibilities. TAs include graduate teaching assistants , who are graduate students; undergraduate teaching assistants , who are undergraduate students; secondary school TAs, who are either high school...
, working under Co-Defensive Coordinator
Defensive coordinator
A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
Bo Pelini
Bo Pelini
Mark "Bo" Pelini is the head football coach at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He had previously been defensive coordinator for the LSU Tigers, Oklahoma Sooners, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers...
. Oklahoma played for the BCS Championship
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
in both of Ekeler's seasons at Oklahoma, while posting a two-year record of 24-3.
LSU
When Bo Pelini moved to LSULouisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
to work under Les Miles
Les Miles
Leslie Edwin "Les" Miles, nicknamed "The Mad Hatter", is an American college football coach and the current head coach of the Louisiana State University football team. Prior to holding that position, he was head coach at Oklahoma State...
beginning in 2005, Ekeler followed and continued working under Pelini as a Graduate Assistant, and success followed. In their first year, LSU finished with national top ten rankings in all defensive categories. In 2006, the LSU squad bested defensive records set in 1976 as LSU led their conference in six defensive categories and ranked nationally in four. 2007 brought even greater success, as Ekeler moved into a position as a coaching intern, and LSU rolled to a 12-2 record and won the BCS Championship, marking the third time in five years that Ekeler had been part of a team playing for the BCS title.
Nebraska
At the conclusion of the 2007 season, Pelini was hired to replace Head CoachHead coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
Bill Callahan at Nebraska. Many former Nebraska assistants who were let go upon Callahan's hire four years prior were brought back into the program, and being a Nebraska native and also a valued team member at LSU, Pelini brought Ekeler back to his home state of Nebraska, along with a promotion to Linebackers Coach
Linebackers coach
A linebackers coach is a position coach in charge of the linebackers in gridiron football. This role is common in the CFL, NFL, and college football programs. The linebackers coach serves the defense, which is led by the defensive coordinator and works with the players of the three linebacker...
, for the 2008 season. During his three seasons in Lincoln, Nebraska's defensive units consistently ranked in the top ten nationally, and won or shared the Big 12 Conference
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
North Division Title all three years. Nebraska played for the league championship in 2009 and 2010, losing both by a total of only four points, and holding the opponents to a combined 36 points.
Indiana
Following Nebraska's 10-3 regular 2010 season, Ekeler was hired to serve as Linebackers CoachLinebackers coach
A linebackers coach is a position coach in charge of the linebackers in gridiron football. This role is common in the CFL, NFL, and college football programs. The linebackers coach serves the defense, which is led by the defensive coordinator and works with the players of the three linebacker...
and Co-Defensive Coordinator
Defensive coordinator
A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
at Indiana by new Hoosier head football coach Kevin R. Wilson
Kevin R. Wilson
Kevin R. Wilson is an American football coach. He is currently the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers.-Playing career:Wilson played offensive line and linebacker at Maiden High School...
. Ekeler will work alongside former New Mexico Defensive Coordinator Doug Mallory, who will serve as the other Indiana Co-Defensive Coordinator while also coaching the Safeties. Ekeler had previously worked with Wilson at Oklahoma for 2003 and 2004, when Wilson was the Offensive Line Coach
Offensive line coach
The offensive line coach is a coaching position in gridiron football that is in charge of the offensive line. This role is very common in the CFL, NFL, and college football programs. The offensive line coach serves the offense, which is led by the offensive coordinator....
for the Sooners.