Ball State University Athletics
Mike Neu Announces Additions to Football Staff
January 25, 2016 | Football
MUNCIE, Ind. – Ball State University head football coach Mike Neu has announced the additions of Tim Daoust (defensive coordinator), Johnny Curtis (linebackers coach), Kyle DeVan (offensive line coach), Byron Ellis (director of football administration/chief of staff) and Ben Armer (director of strength & conditioning for football) to the 2016 football staff.
“All of these guys bring something unique to the table for Ball State and the football staff,” Neu said. “I'm thrilled they have agreed to join the staff and I can't wait for them to start working with the team.”
Daoust is certainly familiar with Mid-American Conference football. He began his coaching career at Northern Illinois in 2002. Daoust has also made coaching stops at Western Michigan and Central Michigan. Most recently, Daoust served as the assistant head coach, special teams coordinator and defensive line coach at Syracuse. He helped lead the Orange to two bowl victories – 2012 Pinstripe Bowl and 2013 Texas Bowl – as well as the 2012 Big East co-championship. Two of his defensive linemen at Syracuse went on to be drafted by NFL teams – Chandler Jones in the first round of the 2012 draft by New England and Jason Bromley in the third round of the 2013 draft by the N.Y. Giants.
Curtis has deep roots in Louisiana where he served as an assistant coach at John Curtis Christian High School (named after his grandfather) for 19 years. He helped lead John Curtis Christian to 13 state championships and one consensus national championship in 2012. Curtis was the defensive coordinator at the high school ranks where he specialized in linebackers and special teams.
DeVan worked with Neu on the New Orleans Saints staff in 2015. He served as an assistant offensive line coach for the Saints after stints at USC (2014) and Oregon State (2013) as a graduate assistant coach. DeVan started 37 consecutive games on the offensive line as a collegiate player at Oregon State (2003-07) before moving on to the NFL. He played for five years in the NFL with stops at Indianapolis, Philadelphia and Tennessee. DeVan made four postseason starts for the Colts, including Super Bowl XLIV at right guard.
Ellis will handle many of the administrative duties for the Cardinals. He has been working for football teams in operations and business positions for more than 10 years. Ellis most recently spent time at Tulane as the director of football operations from 2012-15. Other stops for Ellis include the United Football League, the UFL's Omaha Nighthawks, the Arena League's New Orleans VooDoo and the NFL's New Orleans Saints.
Armer is making a return to Ball State after spending this past fall at Miami (Ohio) as its assistant strength & conditioning coach. He played football at Western Michigan where he was a three-time Academic All-MAC honoree. Armer began his strength & conditioning coaching career at WMU in 2013 before moving on to Ball State (2014) and Miami (2015).
For the most up-to-date news on the football team, please follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateFB and @BSUCoachNeu.
TRANSACTIONS
Ball State University – Announced the hiring of Tim Daoust (defensive coordinator), Johnny Curtis (linebackers coach), Kyle DeVan (offensive line coach), Byron Ellis (director of football administration/chief of staff) and Ben Armer (director of strength & conditioning for football) to the football coaching staff.
