Alvin B. Wyatt (born December 13, 1947) is an American former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and coach. He played professionally as a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) with the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

, and

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

and in

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 in sports, 1974 and most of its second in 1975 in sports, 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a w ...

(WFL) with the

Jacksonville Sharks The Jacksonville Sharks are a professional indoor football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The team plays its home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. They were members of the Are ...

. Wyatt served as the head football coach at his alma mater,

Bethune–Cookman University Bethune–Cookman University (B–CU or Bethune–Cookman) is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Daytona Beach, Florida. Bethune–Cookman University is affiliated wit ...

from 1997 to 2009 and

Edward Waters College Edward Waters University is a private Christian historically Black university in Jacksonville, Florida. It was founded in 1866 by members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME Church) as a school to educate freedmen and their childre ...

from 2013 to 2017, compiling a career

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

coaching record of 100–92. He was also the women's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

head coach at Bethune–Cookman from 1978 to 1996, tallying a mark of 245–201.

Playing career

Wyatt played

and was selected by the

in the sixth round of the

1970 NFL draft The 1970 NFL draft was the 35th National Football League draft and the first of the league's modern era, following the merger of the National Football League with the American Football League. It was held on January 27–28, 1970, at the Belmont ...

. Wyatt spent only one year in Oakland; in 1971 and 1972 he played for the

(with five interceptions and a touchdown), then moved to the

in 1973. After playing only sparingly (four games) for the Oilers, Wyatt jumped to the

of the

(WFL) in 1974. He quickly emerged as one of the Sharks' best players, returning a punt for a touchdown on national TV against the New York Stars (the first touchdown in Jacksonville pro football history), and leading the team with five interceptions. Unfortunately, the Sharks stopped paying their players, then folded in mid-season; Wyatt then decided to retire as a player.

Coaching

Wyatt was responsible for turning around his alma mater's football program starting in 1997, when he took over as head coach. The program previously suffered 12 consecutive losing seasons during the 1980s and 1990s. Wyatt's success was due in part to his colorful and outspoken personality, and his flashy attire as he patrolled the sidelines. But major credit is due to his development and installation of his 'Wyattbone' offense (a version of the

option offense An option offense is an American football offensive system in which a key player (usually the quarterback) has several "options" of how each play will proceed based upon the actions of the defense. Traditionally, option-based offenses rely on Rus ...

), which enabled the team to be a potent rushing powerhouse, while their passing offense was efficient. As coach who came from a defensive background, Wyatt's defenses during the 2000s were ranked near the top of the

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC ) is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and the Mid-A ...

(MEAC). In 2002, Wyatt lead Bethune–Cookman to its first outright MEAC title, and a share of the conference title in 2003. Under Wyatt, Bethune–Cookman defeated longtime rival

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. ...

in the annual

Florida Classic The Florida Classic is the annual college football rivalry game between Bethune–Cookman University and Florida A&M University. The game is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group that also organizes the Pop-Tarts Bowl and ...

in 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2007, a series which was previously dominated by the

Florida A&M Rattlers The Florida A&M Rattlers represent Florida A&M University (FAMU) in college athletics. Florida A&M is a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference and participates in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). FAMU offers men's s ...

. The Wildcats played in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs in 2002 and 2003 under Wyatt, who is the winningest coach in the history of its football program. He compiled a record of 90–54. Wyatt was an inspiration in the lives of many former Wildcat players, including current

players Rashean Mathis (Jacksonville Jaguars),

Nick Collins Nicholas Cordell Collins (born August 16, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a safety for seven seasons with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Bethune ...

(Green Bay Packers), and Eric Weems (Atlanta Falcons). Mathis and Collins are the highest NFL draft picks to have ever come out of Bethune–Cookman. All three players have been selected to the NFL Pro Bowl. Mathis, Collins, and Weems were All-MEAC selections as well as being nominated to Div 1-AA All-American Teams and SBN Sports Black College All-American (BCAA) teams during their college careers. Other players under Wyatt who played in the NFL are Damion Cook (offensive lineman), and Steve Baggs (linebacker) who is in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

. On December 10, 2013, Wyatt was named as the 13th head football coach in the history of

Head coaching record

Football

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wyatt, Alvin 1947 births Living people American football cornerbacks American football safeties Bethune–Cookman Wildcats football coaches Bethune–Cookman Wildcats football players Bethune–Cookman Wildcats women's basketball coaches Buffalo Bills players Edward Waters Tigers football coaches Houston Oilers players Oakland Raiders players Coaches of American football from Florida Players of American football from Jacksonville, Florida Basketball coaches from Florida African-American coaches of American football African-American basketball coaches 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen