Ellis Johnson
Ellis Johnson went 17–40 as a head coach, 1983–2012, at Gardner-Webb, The Citadel and Southern Miss. Share
Four seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1983 at Gardner-Webb; 2001–03 at The Citadel. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 17–40 career
- Seasons
- 5
- Schools
- 3
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Best season
- 2012 0–12
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Gardner-Webb * | 5–6 | T–3rd | |||
| 1984–00: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 2001 | The Citadel * | 3–7 | 7th | |||
| 2002 | The Citadel * | 3–9 | 9th | |||
| 2003 | The Citadel * | 6–6 | T–4th | |||
| 2004–11: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 2012 | Southern Miss | 0–12 | 6th (East) | |||
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table. * A season our game records don’t credit to him; its record is the article’s.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 2 | 0–2 | 0% |
| Against rivals | 2 | 0–2 | 0% |
| Conference games | 8 | 0–8 | 0% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 4 | 0–4 | 0% |
| At home | 6 | 0–6 | 0% |
| On the road | 6 | 0–6 | 0% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 6 | 0–6 | 0% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 6 | 0–6 | 0% |
His own 12 games on file, 2012, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| UABseries | 1 | 0–1 |
| Boise Stateseries | 1 | 0–1 |
| Louisvilleseries | 1 | 0–1 |
| Western Kentuckyseries | 1 | 0–1 |
| East Carolinaseries | 1 | 0–1 |
| Nebraskaseries | 1 | 0–1 |
| Memphisseries | 1 | 0–1 |
| Riceseries | 1 | 0–1 |
National title staffs
Every title staff- Won a national title on Alabama’s 1992 staff (outside linebackers) · the staff · source
The champions’ staffs from 1990 on, as the schools listed them that season: Staff lists: Drew Hoover’s how-many-rings (MIT), from the schools’ media guides and staff pages. Roles as the source words them.
Also a player: Ellis Johnson’s playing career.
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | The Citadel | Defensive ends coach | |
| 1976–78 | Gaffney HS (SC) high school | Defensive coordinator | |
| 1979 | Spartanburg HS (SC) high school | Defensive coordinator | |
| 1980–81 | Spartanburg HS (SC) high school | Head coach | |
| 1982 | The Citadel | Linebackers coach | |
| 1983 | Gardner-Webb | Head coach | |
| 1984 | Appalachian State | Defensive coordinator | |
| 1985–87 | East Carolina | Outside linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator | |
| 1988–89 | Southern Miss | Defensive coordinator | |
| 1990–93 | Alabama | Outside linebackers coach | |
| 1994–96 | Clemson | Outside linebackers coach and defensive coordinator | |
| 1997 | Alabama | Defensive coordinator and defensive line coach | |
| 1998–2000 | Alabama | Defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach | |
| 2001–03 | The Citadel | Head coach | |
| 2004–05 | Mississippi State | Defensive coordinator and safeties coach | |
| 2006–07 | Mississippi State | Defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach | |
| 2008–11 | South Carolina | Assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| 2012 | Southern Miss | Head coach | |
| 2013–14 | Auburn | Defensive coordinator | |
| 2016–18 | South Carolina | Analyst |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Bobby RossThe Citadel
- Art BakerThe Citadel, East Carolina
- Sparky WoodsApp State
- Curley HallmanSouthern Miss
- Gene StallingsAlabama
- Tommy WestClemson
- Mike DuBoseAlabama
- Sylvester CroomMississippi State
- Steve SpurrierSouth Carolina
- Gus MalzahnAuburn
- Will MuschampSouth Carolina
Assistants who became head coaches
- Maurice DraytonThe Citadel
- John ZernheltThe Citadel
- Broderick FobbsGrambling
- Rickey BustleLouisiana
- Tommy WestClemson, Memphis, Chattanooga
Worked under (11)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Ross | The Citadel | 1975 | Defensive ends coach | |
| Art Baker | The Citadel | 1982 | Linebackers coach | |
| Sparky Woods | App State | 1984 | Defensive coordinator | |
| Art Baker | East Carolina | 1985–87 | Outside linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator | |
| Curley Hallman | Southern Miss | 1988–89 | Defensive coordinator | |
| Gene Stallings | Alabama | 1990–93 | Outside linebackers coach | |
| Tommy West | Clemson | 1994–96 | Outside linebackers coach and defensive coordinator | |
| Mike DuBose | Alabama | 1997–2000 | 1997: defensive coordinator and defensive line coach; 1998–2000: defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach | |
| Sylvester Croom | Mississippi State | 2004–07 | 2004–05: defensive coordinator and safeties coach; 2006–07: defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach | |
| Steve Spurrier | South Carolina | 2008–11 | Assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| Gus Malzahn | Auburn | 2013–14 | Defensive coordinator | |
| Will Muschamp | South Carolina | 2016–18 | Analyst |
Coached under him, later head coaches (5)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maurice Drayton | The Citadel, 2001: wide receivers coach; 2003: defensive backs coach, special teams coordinator and recruiting coordinator; Southern Miss, 2012: defensive backs coach | The Citadel | |
| John Zernhelt | The Citadel, 2003: offensive coordinator | The Citadel | |
| Broderick Fobbs | Southern Miss, 2012: wide receivers coach | Grambling | |
| Rickey Bustle | Southern Miss, 2012: running backs coach | Louisiana | |
| Tommy West | Southern Miss, 2012: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | Clemson, Memphis, Chattanooga |
Other assistants under him (1)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Steve Buckley | Southern Miss, 2012: offensive coordinator |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.
Pay
| Year | School | Job | Contract pay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Auburn | defensive coordinatorbonuses up to $252,500 | $850,000 USA Today |
USA Today’s coaches salary database (2014–17, from public-records requests to the schools; Rachel Ehlers’ copy): the season’s contract pay, school pay plus outside money, before bonuses.
Pay of public employees in their public job only: head coaches, and assistants in the seasons our records name them a coordinator, at public universities.