VooDoo hires two to coaching and football staff
October 5, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
New Orleans VooDoo News Release
The New Orleans VooDoo have hired Jeff Russell as defensive coordinator, it was announced today by the club. The team also added Byron Ellis as the club's football operations assistant.
Russell comes to the VooDoo after a seven-year playing career at WR/DB in the Arena Football League. During his career, playing for five different teams, Russell made 166 receptions for 1907 yards with 25 touchdowns, while making 116 tackles, three interceptions, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
Russell started his coaching career in 2003 as the wide receivers and defensive backs coach for the Detroit Fury. That season, Russell was part of a staff that helped reverse the Fury's fortunes from 1-13 in 2002 to 8-8 in 2003 and helped guide the franchise to their first-ever playoff victory. The regular season mark tied the AFL's single-season record for largest turnaround. Russell returned to the playing field for the Fury for one more season in 2004. Russell played for VooDoo Coach Mike Neu in Nashville in 1999, when Neu served as the team's offensive coordinator.
In addition to his Arena Football League coaching and playing experience, Russell also played two seasons in NFL Europe as a member of the Amsterdam Admirals and also was a member of the 2001 XFL Champion Los Angeles Xtreme. Russell was a four-year letterman at the University of Pacific. He received his Master's degree from Middle Tennessee State University.
"We are excited to be able to add Jeff to our coaching staff," said Neu. "He has a great knowledge of the arena game and will bring an aggressive, tough approach to the defensive side of the ball."
Ellis will assisted Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis, Vice President of Football Administration Russ Ball and Head Coach Mike Neu in all aspects of football operations, including player personnel, monitoring of the salary cap and team travel. Prior to his current position, Ellis had worked in the operations department of the Saints and VooDoo since 2003, most recently as the team's operations supervisor. Ellis is a graduate of Southern Mississippi.
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