Nicholls defensive coordinator Steve Ellis resigned from his position with the Colonels on Monday afternoon. Ellis accepted an offer to become Middle Tennessee State’s secondary coach as well as an assistant with special teams.

Middle Tennessee held a 5-7 record last season with a 3-4 record in Sun Belt Conference. The Blue Raiders closed its season winning three of the last four games.

Ellis has served as the Colonels defensive coordinator for three seasons. Prior to this, he coached the Colonel linebackers and defensive backs.

Ellis was one of the youngest defensive coordinators when he was appointed to his position before spring drills in 2006.

In 2007, Ellis coached his players to lead the Southland Conference in total defense. This was an improvement from 2006 when the Colonels were ranked second in the league.

In 2006, Ellis’ players yielded 301.1 yards per game. In 2007, the Colonels improved to 352.5 yards per game.

In 2005, Ellis helped his team to win its first ever Southland Conference title serving as the defensive back coach.

Ellis has also been a key factor in placing two former defensive backs in professional football. Kareem Moore was drafted to the Washington Redskins in the 2008 NFL draft and Toney Edison went on to play in the Canadian Football League.

Ellis was Nicholls’ pro-liason as well as supervised student-athlete academic progress for the past four seasons.

Not only was Ellis a coach for the Colonels, he was also a four year letter winner as a player for the Colonels. Standing out as a defensive back from 1999-2002, Ellis recorded 195 total tackles and five interceptions.

Ellis’ season ended abruptly due to a career ending knee injury in the fourth game of his senior season against Southern.

Ellis was named to the Southland Conference Team for the full three years he played.