Charles Edward Coffey (June 28, 1934 – August 24, 2015) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player and coach. A native of

Shelbyville, Tennessee Shelbyville is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Bedford County, Tennessee. The town was laid out in 1810 and incorporated in 1819. Shelbyville had a population of 20,335 at the 2010 census. The town is a hub of the Tennessee Wa ...

, Coffey attended the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

to play football for

Robert Neyland Robert Reese Neyland (; February 17, 1892 – March 28, 1962) was an American football player and coach and officer in the United States Army, reaching the rank of Brigadier general (United States), brigadier general. He served three stints as ...

. While at the University of Tennessee he played

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

, lettered from 1953 to 1955 and was selected as the team captain his senior year. Coffey also maintained the highest grade average for four years of any member of the UT squad. Coffey served as the head football coach at

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

from 1971 to 1973, compiling a record of 12–20–1.

Coaching career

After graduating from the University of Tennessee, Coffey began his coaching career as an assistant football coach at

Hialeah High School Hialeah Senior High School is a public high school located at 251 E 47th Street in Hialeah, Florida, United States. History Hialeah Senior High School opened in September 1954. In April 2012, Alberto M. Carvalho, the superintendent of Miami-Dad ...

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. Then he spent five years at

Southeastern Louisiana University Southeastern Louisiana University (Southeastern) is a public university in Hammond, Louisiana. It was founded in 1925 by Linus A. Sims as Hammond Junior College. Sims succeeded in getting the campus moved to north Hammond in 1928, when it beca ...

. His next move was to

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and then back to his alma mater for two years coaching for Jim McDonald and

Doug Dickey Douglas Adair Dickey (born June 24, 1932) is an American former college football player and coach and college athletics administrator. Dickey is a South Dakota native who was raised in Florida and graduated from the University of Florida, where ...

. He served as an assistant football coach at Tennessee, tutoring the defensive line from 1963 to 1965. In 1965, Coffey received an offer to join

Frank Broyles John Franklin Broyles (December 26, 1924 – August 14, 2017) was an American college football player and coach, college athletics administrator, and broadcaster. He served as the head football coach for one season at the University of Missouri ...

' staff at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

. During that time, Coffey was earning a reputation as a strong leader and an excellent football coach. After five years coaching at Arkansas with Broyles, three schools tried to recruit Coffey for their head coach positions. The first school he visited was

and in 1971 without even visiting the other schools, he became their head football coach. Once he arrived in Blacksburg, Coffey established a potent passing attack, which resulted in Hokies

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

Don Strock Donald Joseph Strock (born November 27, 1950) is an American former professional football player and coach. He played as a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) with the Miami Dolphins (1973–1987), Cleveland Browns (1988), and Ind ...

leading the nation in total passing and total offense in 1972. During his time in Blacksburg, he set the program awash in orange, made a whirlwind media tour of the state to promote the Virginia Tech football team and improved the athletic facilities. Most significantly, the new coach broke with Tech tradition and installed a pass-happy offense. Attendance at Virginia Tech football games increased to record breaking numbers. The highlight of the 1972 season came when Tech upset 19th-ranked

Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

in Blacksburg. After completing his three-season tenure from 1971 to 1973, he compiled a 12–20–1 record. He was named to the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.

Nationwide Express trucking

Coffey entered the trucking business in 1975. He founded Nationwide Express trucking company in 1980.

Death

Coffey died at the age of 81, in his house in Shelbyville, Tennessee, on August 24, 2015.

Head coaching record

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coffey, Charlie 1934 births 2015 deaths American football guards Arkansas Razorbacks football coaches George Washington Colonials football coaches Southeastern Louisiana Lions football coaches Tennessee Volunteers football coaches Tennessee Volunteers football players Virginia Tech Hokies football coaches High school football coaches in Florida Sportspeople from Shelbyville, Tennessee