Louisville football had one of the best offseasons in the nation, but the Cardinals' fans had one glaring question. Who will be the defensive coordinator for Louisville and Jeff Brohm?
Well, it took over a month of searching, but this afternoon, Brohm finally answered the Cardinals fans most asked question as he officially promoted Mark Ivey and Steve Ellis to be co-defensive coordinators. Ivey will be moved back to the defensive line to replace Mark Hagan, and Ellis will be the Cardinals' defensive backs coach and will lead their secondary.
Louisville coach Jeff Brohm announces Mark Ivey will be co-defensive coordinator and coach defensive line, while Steve Ellis will be co-defensive coordinator and in charge of the secondary.
— Jody Demling (@jdemling) February 3, 2026
Louisville football announces Co-Defensive Coordinators
Back in late December, Cardinals fans learned that Brohm and defensive line coach and co-defensive coordinator Mark Hagan parted ways, while Ron English announced he would step away to watch his son's final season at Navy. With these major changes, Louisville fans have been wondering all offseason and throughout the Transfer Portal who their defensive coordinator would be.
Well, Ivey will return to the defensive line, where he started. He was one of the Cards' fans' top choices, as he brings tons of energy and is a favorite among fans. Ivey made an immediate impact when he joined Louisville in 2019, as the Cardinals recorded 17 sacks in his first season with the staff. Before his time with Louisville, he spent seven seasons at Appalachian State, where he served as an assistant head coach and defensive line coach.
As for Ellis, he joined the Cards staff back in 2023 and has already made an impact with this secondary, helping develop Quincy Riley, who went on to make an immediate impact with the New Orleans Saints. Before his time with Louisville, he coached at ECU, where the Pirates recorded 25 interceptions in his two seasons.
In those two seasons, ECU collected 15 interceptions in 2021, ranking No. 2 in the AAC and No. 14 in the nation. While English leaving was quite a shock to Cardinals fans, they have someone with tons of experience, as Ellis brings over 19 years of coaching at the Division I level.
Other major announcements for Louisville football are that Quality control specialist Adam Mueller will now be the Cardinals' linebackers coach, and Brandon Sharp will be the new safeties coach.
The Cardinals went out and secured big-time additions for their new defensive coordinators, adding Tyler Thompson and Jerod Smith II to the defensive line while keeping Clev Lubin and AJ Green, and adding Koen Entringer, Kaleb Beasley, Brycen Scott, and others to their secondary.
For all the latest recruiting news and updates for Louisville football, stay tuned.