Football
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- lej49@msstate.edu
When Mississippi State head football coach Sylvester Croom tabbed Ellis Johnson as his defensive coordinator, he not only was drawing on his Alabama connections for an experienced defensive leader, but he was also getting a veteran teacher with head coaching credits on his resume.
Johnson’s defensive know-how went on display immediately and has continued throughout his three seasons at the head of the MSU defense. In his first season, his group whacked more than 100 yards per game off the opponents’ total offensive output per game in the year prior to his arrival. In 2005, MSU whittled another 30 yards per game off that average and moved to eighth overall in the league, just 40 yards per game from moving into the conference’s top three schools. Johnson’s defense held five opponents to 17 points or less in ?05. This past season, the MSU defense carved another 15 yards per game off its offense allowed, moved to seventh in the league overall in that category, just 30 yards from reaching the league’s top four. His group was fifth in the conference in rush defense in ’06.
Under his guidance, middle linebacker Quinton Culberson finished third in the Southeastern Conference in total tackles and earned all-SEC recognition in 2006. Johnson, 55, came to State from The Citadel, where he served the previous three seasons as the school’s head football coach. The military institution based in Charleston, S.C., finished the 2003 campaign with a 6-6 mark, the best record at The Citadel in six years.
A veteran of over a quarter-century in the coaching profession, it was a third homecoming for the former Citadel player. He served as defensive ends coach at his alma mater in 1975 to begin his coaching career and returned as linebacker coach in 1982, a pair of one-year stints. Johnson’s varied background includes work at the high school, small college, I-AA and major college levels. He has coached in four Southeastern Conference championship games and tutored more than 20 players who have made NFL rosters.
Prior to his head coaching responsibilities at The Citadel, Johnson was defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach at Alabama from 1997-2000. During that four-year stay in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide finished the 1999 season 10-3, won the Southeastern Conference championship over Florida 34-7 in the league title game, and earned a berth in the 2000 Orange Bowl. That team had the nation’s second-best rushing defense, a unit that ranked ninth nationally in total defense. He also helped UA to a Music City Bowl appearance in 1998.
That tenure in Tuscaloosa was his second with the Tide. He spent four years as Alabama’s outside linebacker coach (1990-93), helping Gene Stallings’ teams to a 41-9 record on the field. He helped the 1992 UA team go undefeated, win the SEC title, and earn unanimous national championship acclaim. His linebackers were an integral part to Alabama’s defense ranking first nationally in both total defense and against the run. The ?91 team finished 11-1, losing only to Florida. All four Tide teams ended their seasons in bowl games: the 1991 Fiesta, the ?91 Blockbuster, the ?93 Sugar, and the ?93 Gator.
Between stints at Alabama, Johnson spent three seasons at Clemson (1994-96), the first two as outside linebackers coach, the final as defensive coordinator and defensive line instructor. Those last two Tiger teams concluded their seasons in the ?96 Gator and ?96 Peach Bowls. He helped that ?95 defense rank 10th nationally overall and first in the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring defense. Prior to his initial stay with the Crimson Tide, Johnson was the defensive coordinator at Southern Mississippi (1988-89). On the staff of Curley Hallman at USM, those two teams finished 15-8 overall, and earned a post-season bowl reward at the Independence Bowl in 1988.
Between his second stint at The Citadel and the two-year stay in Hattiesburg, Johnson worked in the state of North Carolina. He was head coach at Gardner-Webb College (1983), defensive coordinator at Appalachian State (1984) and outside linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator at East Carolina (1985-87).
Johnson played defensive end for The Citadel in the early 1970s, and his coaching career began under Bobby Ross following his graduation in 1975. A native of Winnsboro, S.C., Johnson is married to the former Caroline Courie of Columbia, S.C. The couple has two sons, Eli and Charlie, and a daughter, Sandra Elliott.
Playing Career
- Played defensive end for The Citadel (1970-74)
Coaching Career
- 1975: Defensive Ends Coach, The Citadel
- 1976-78: Gaffney [SC] HS
- 1979-81: Spartanburg [SC] HS
- 1982: Linebackers Coach, The Citadel
- 1983: Head Coach, Gardner Webb College
- 1984: Defensive Coordinator, Appalachian State University
- 1985-87: Outside Linebackers Coach/Rec. Coordinator, East Carolina University
- 1988-89: Defensive Coordinator, University of Southern Mississippi
- 1990-93: Outside Linebackers Coach, University of Alabama
- 1994-96: Outside Linebackers Coach/Defensive Coordinator, Clemson University
- 1997-00: Defensive Coordinator/Outside Linebackers Coach, University of Alabama
- 2001-03: Head Coach, The Citadel
- 2004-05: Defensive Coordinator/Safeties Coach, Mississippi State University
- 2006-present: Defensive Coordinator/Inside Linebackers Coach, Mississippi State University
Notable
Head coach at The Citadel during the three seasons prior to coming to MSU ... On the Alabama staff that guided the Tide to the 1992 SEC and national titles ... Helped lead the UA defense to a No. 1 ranking in total defense that season ... Also assisted in guiding Alabama to the 1999 SEC crown ... Aided in mentoring Clemson’s defense to a No. 10 ranking in 1995.
