Ellis steps down at Lafayette
Citing family as the sole reason, Paul Ellis stepped down as the head football coach at Lafayette High School on Friday.
Ellis said he made the decision specifically with his daughter in mind as she is set to be a senior next year.
“There’s nothing wrong on my end, but I just feel like this is what I need to do as a dad,” Ellis stated.
Ellis informed his coaching staff early Friday before meeting with his players later that morning. He added that he planned to continue to teach at LHS throughout the remainder of the current school year.
“I love everybody here and I can’t say how much I appreciate everybody here, from (Lafayette principal) Mrs. (Maggie) Stultz to all the principles and administration,” he continued. “I love all my coaches and all the kids. My coaches are fantastic and I have absolutely nothing negative to say. That’s from the bottom of my heart. I just wish we could have won a few more games for the kids and the community, but that’s all on me.”
Ellis went 12-18 in three seasons with the Ramblers. Lafayette went 5-5 in his first season and 3-7 in 2019. Last year saw the Ramblers go 4-6 overall, but 4-3 in their first season in Region 6-AAA, earning themselves a fourth-place finish and the program’s first postseason berth in 27 years.
The school announced the resignation on a press release on social media.
“He wll be greatly missed on the Rambler sideline,” the release stated. “Our sincerest best wishes go with Coach Ellis and his family. We thank him for his leadership of Rambler Football over these past three years.”
Stultz added that she supported Ellis’s decision and thanked him for helping get the program back on track, adding that he “had a heart for the Ramblers”.
“He helped bring back that excitement to Friday Night football,” she said. “He created that passion and excitement back in our community and our kids. They believe that they can win and he’s been an incredible coach. He will certainly be missed and I’m sad to see him go. I wanted him to stay as long as I was going to stay.”
Before coming to south Walker County, Ellis enjoyed a very successful stint as head coach at Class 6A Fort Payne (Ala.) High School where he went 109-48 in 14 seasons and left as the all-time winningest coach in Wildcat history. His Wildcat teams made the playoffs 12 times in his 14 seasons as head coach and claimed six regions championships.
He had spent his entire coaching career in Alabama before coming to Lafayette. He was the head coach at Valley Head for one season in 1992 and was later hired at Section in 1998 where he coached for three seasons.