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Ellis, 28, was an offensive quality control coach in his first year at Western Kentucky in 2014, assisting quarterbacks coach (and current USC assistant) Tyson Helton as WKU played in the Bahamas Bowl. Brandon Doughty led the nation in passing yards (4,380) and touchdowns (49) in 2014 while winning the Sammy Baugh Award as the nation's top quarterback. Ellis then was WKU's running backs coach in 2015 (the team played in the Miami Beach Bowl), as Anthony Wales ran for 1,086 yards and D'Andre Ferby made the Conference USA All-Freshman team. In 2016, Ellis was the Hilltoppers' wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator, as Taywan Taylor had 98 catches for 1,730 yards with 17 TDs and Nicholas Norris added 76 receptions for 1,318 yards with 14 TDs (the Hilltoppers threw for 4,715 yards and 42 scores). Due to a coaching change, Ellis served as WKU's offensive coordinator in the 2016 Boca Raton Bowl and helped the Hilltoppers roll up 51 points and 598 total yards in a victory over Memphis. Before that, he was an offensive graduate assistant at Alabama-Birmingham, his alma mater, for 2 seasons (2012-13).
