Louisville HC Jeff Brohm Has Full Faith in Mark Ivey and Steve Ellis

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Following a few weeks of debate and consternation from the fanbase and local media, the Louisville football program finally named a defensive coordinator on Tuesday. Like the first three years under head coach Jeff Brohm, two coaches will carry co-defensive coordinator titles - and it's two guys that Cardinals fans are very familiar with.

Next season, it will be Mark Ivey and Steve Ellis running UofL's defense. The two will split coordinator responsibilities, with Ellis remaining the cornerbacks coach, and Ivey making the switch back to coaching the defensive line. The two are replacing Ron English and Mark Hagen as Co-DC's, after the latter was not retained and the former opted to take the 2026 season off from coaching.

For Brohm, it was a no-brainer to promote Ivey and Ellis, and has placed his full faith in their ability to run that side of the ball. He calls the two coaches "excellent coaches and great team players," and that they will help Louisville continue to build on their extremely disruptive defensive scheme that they have in place.

"I think you got two guys that have coached a lot of football, and now are taking that next small step to certain degree," Brohm said Wednesday regarding the two. "With a lot of help in the room. We're gonna have a ton of experience in the room around it.

"We have a package already in place that's not going to change, other than whatever we want to tweak to help us improve and get better and be more aggressive - which will happen. But I think we all are on the same page in there right now, as far as moving forward getting better. Those two guys are just really excellent coaches and great team players."

While it was not specified by Louisville as to who will be the defensive play caller when the hire was made official on Wednesday, based on the way that Brohm talked about him the day before, it sounds like that job will belong to Ivey. If it indeed is Ivey, he certainly is the most deserving.

Not only was Ivey the linebackers coach for Louisville in each of his Brohm's first three years at his alma mater, he was the defensive line coach for all four season under previous UofL head coach Scott Satterfield. Regardless of his role wit the Cardinals and who he served under, he has excelled in his role.

This past season, the linebacker position - and front seven as a whole - was a strength of the defense. T.J. Quinn posted a career year, one where he led the Cards in tackles (95) for a third straight season, earning Third-Team All-ACC honors in the process.

Stanquan Clark has also been one of the best defensive players on the team over the last two seasons, and had a breakout 2024 campaign where he was second on the team in tackles (76). This past season, when clark went down due to injury, T.J. Capers and Kalib Perry did great jobs in his absence.

Ivey has also shown an eye for evaluating talent, and that was obvious during his first stint as defensive line coach. He was the primary recruiter for Ashton Gillotte, who is now with the Kansas City Chiefs after going in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft, as well as returning edge rusher A.J. Green.

"When we first got here, he was the lone coach that we kept from the previous staff," Brohm said of Ivey. "When I got here, a lot of players came up to me said a lot of great things about Coach Ivey, and what he brought to the table, why they loved him. As I've gotten around him, he is a team guy. He works really hard. He wants to win. He's going to do whatever it takes. I think he's hungry to build his resume, and to continue to work his way up the ladder. He understands football. He's coached D-line before we got here, moved to the linebackers, now he's back coaching what he's coached more often than not. I think he'll do a great job coaching that position, and I think he'll do a great job running our defense, being hungry and driven to find ways to improve.

As good as Ivey has been, there's a reason that Ellis is also getting his share of coordinator duties. He might be one of the few hires Brohm has made where he does not prior ties to him or Louisville, Ellis has been of of the the best assistants on the entire staff.

Entering the 2025 season, the cornerback spot was viewed as the position that was weakest on the entire defense. Not only was that not the case, the room - led by All-ACC honorable mention Tayon Holloway and Jabari Mack - helped Louisville post the No. 24 passing defense in the FBS (188.8 passing yards allowed per game).

Additionally, Ellis has been one of the best assistants on the staff in terms of getting players to the NFL. Quincy Riley was picked up in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints, while Jarvis Brownlee was selected in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans. Storm Duck and Corey Thornton have also done well as UDFAs with the Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers, respectively.

"He's another guy I hired after I got here," Brohm said of Ellis. "I called around, talked to a ton of people, and I couldn't get anything negative whatsoever. That's what he bring as well. Steve Ellis is a great person. Works really hard, he's a team guy, wants to win. That's his number one goal. He's great around the players. He's a hungry, driven coach as well. He came to the University of Louisville as, really, his first power four job. Man, he cherishes it. He works hard at it, and he's hungry to prove himself. He understands the research that he studies, and he's great with our players."

With Ivey and Ellis leading the charge on the defensive side of the ball, Brohm believes Louisville will have a chance to carry their defensive momentum into the 2026 season, especially considering they appear to be retaining the previous 4-2-5 system and scheme. The Cardinals' 303.1 yards allowed per games ranked 16th in the FBS and second in the ACC, while their 21.2 points allowed per games came in at 38th and fifth, respectively.

"I think our defense played well last year, we have a good system in place that will stay in place," Brohm said. "Are you always looking for ways to tweak it and get better, and improve, and be cutting edge, and be aggressive, and get after the quarterback, and get interceptions and tackles for loss, yes. So we're going to continue to work through that, and I think they understand that's a constant process."

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