Steve Ellis Excited for 'Learning Experience' of Being Louisville Co-Defensive Coordinator

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Spring ball has officially kicked off for the Louisville football program, and there are a lot of new faces around the facility. The Cardinals have not only welcomed 33 new scholarship players through the transfer portal, but 20 newcomers in the their 2026 recruiting class - with 16 of them being early enrollees.

But not only are there plenty of new faces to learn on the playing roster, there are a handful of assistant coaches on the staff that are either in new positions, or new to the program entirely.

One of those coaches is Steve Ellis. While he has been with Louisville during all three years of Jeff Brohm's tenure as the head coach, heading into year four, he has some additional responsibilities heading into year four. On top of being the cornerbacks coach, he is now their co-defensive coordinator along with defensive line coach Mark Ivey.

"I'd like to thank Coach Brohm, his wife was Jennifer, and the AD Josh Heird for giving me an opportunity to do this, I'm definitely excited about it," Ellis said this past Wednesday following the second practice of the spring. "But for me, it's just another stepping stone. For me, just keep sawing that wood, continue to get better. Coach Brohm has made a decision, and it's me and Coach Ivey's job to make sure to put the defense in the best situation, to put us in the best situation to make plays, and have those guys succeed. We're excited about the opportunity.

"We did an unbelievable job this spring of going through this defense, breaking it down like we did last year, going the hood of a car and look for all the miscues, change spark plugs, and that's something we have done. We're definitely excited about this thing moving forward."

Ellis is definitely deserving of the promotion, which came after both previous co-DCs Ron English and Mark Hagen departed the program. He has developed a reputations as fantastic evaluator and developer of talent, helping corners like Quincy Riley, Jarvis Brownlee Jr. and Corey Thornton earn spots on NFL rosters. The Cardinals posted the top-ranked passing defense in the ACC (and 24th-ranked in the FBS) last season, helping them go 9-4 overall.

Between his abilities as a coach and recruiter, as well as his drive and relatability, Brohm had no issue giving Ellis those additional game planning responsibilities.

"Steve Ellis is a great person," Brohm said this past February. "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."

It's not Ellis' first time being a defensive coordinator, as he also held this title from 2011-14 at Middle Tennessee, as well as 2006-08 at his alma mater of Nicholls State. But with this being his first DC stint at a power conference program, Ellis has embraced this new learning experience with arms wide open.

"I think anytime you start your career, and for me, really, when I first started coaching, you always try to take those leaping steps, those bounds, those new challenges," he said. "That's what we are, we're competitors. Anything to make us compete, anything to help us drive to the best, we're always excited about that. But for me, just another learning experience. I'm excited for the challenge."

Not only is he using this new opportunity to be the student, he's also using it to be the teacher.

Of the four new position assistants on Brohm's staff, two of them are first timers at the FBS level. Adam Mueller and Brandon Sharp, both of whom had been quality control coaches for the Cardinals since Brohm arrived, were promoted to linebackers and safeties coaches, respectively.

With Mueller and Sharp stepping into new positions as well, Ellis will undoubtedly play a role in shaping their young coaching careers.

"It's just that sense of hunger, Ellis said. "I was listening to a coach speak the other day, and he said he's looking for guys to have their PhD. It's not really a PhD degree, it's 'P' for passion, 'H' for being hungry, 'D' for driven. Both those guys are passionate, hungry, and they're driven. I'm just excited to be a part of their career, and looking for them to have a great coaching career and see their journey."

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