Edward Charles Foley Jr. (born September 26, 1967) is 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 ...
coach and former player. He was the assistant special teams coach for the
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...
from until
mid-2022, working under head coach
Matt Rhule, who he had previously worked with at
Temple University
Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...
. Prior to coaching the Panthers, Foley primarily coached
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 ...
, including head coach positions at
Fordham University
Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...
and Temple University.
Early years
Raised in
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Cherry Hill is a Township (New Jersey), township within Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As a suburb of Philadelphia, the township is part of the South Jersey and Delaware Valley regions. Cherry Hill ...
, Foley graduated from
Cherry Hill High School East.
Foley was a three-year starter at Bucknell University, playing one season as a
guard and two as a
center. During his junior year, he was named the Bison's top lineman. As a senior, he served as the team's captain.
Coaching career
Early coaching career
Foley coached the offensive line at
University at Albany, SUNY
The State University of New York at Albany (University at Albany, UAlbany, or SUNY Albany) is a Public university, public research university in Albany, New York, United States. Founded in 1844, it is one of four "university centers" of the St ...
from 1989 to 1990. He served as an assistant coach at the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
from 1991 to 1993, and again from 1995 to 1997. At Penn, Foley coached tight ends and tackles for five years and helped the Quakers to a perfect 10–0 record and an
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...
championship in 1993. Foley was the offensive line coach for
Williams College
Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...
in 1994. Foley spent the 1998 season as the
offensive coordinator
An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...
and
offensive line coach
In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, associate and assistant coach, and the Offensive coordinator, offensive a ...
at
Jacksonville University, the first time the university sponsored a football. His Dolphin offense averaged 380 passing yards (190 passing, 190 rushing) and 30.1 points per game.
Fordham
Foley coached the
Fordham Rams for seven seasons, including two seasons as head coach. As Fordham's offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, Foley helped rejuvenate a program that won the
Patriot League
The Patriot League is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference comprising primarily leading Private university, private institutions of higher education and two United States service academies based in the Northeastern United ...
championship in 2002 with a 10–3 record.
In 2000, Foley's offense established a running game that set a team record for most rushing yards in a single (1,635 yards, an average of 149 per game). In 2001, the Fordham offense had its first 1,000-yard rusher and first-ever 1,000-yard receiver on the NCAA Division I-AA level. That year Rams had the second-ranked passing offense in the Patriot League and the second-best scoring offense as well.
In 2002, Fordham led the Patriot League in passing and scoring offense, while finishing second in total offense, and setting a team record for most points in a season. In addition to winning the Patriot League title, the Rams advanced to the NCAA I-AA Playoffs, where they defeated the
Northeastern Huskies
The Northeastern Huskies are the athletic teams representing Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. They compete in thirteen varsity team sports: men's and women's hockey (in Hockey East); men's baseball, men's and women's basketball ...
in the first round.
In 2003, six members of the Rams offense were named to the All-Patriot League Team, including four whom were named to the first team. The Rams broke the team record for most rushing yards in a season for the second time in Foley's tenure (1,657 yards), while also setting a school record for most pass completions in a season (255).
As head coach, Foley had a 7–15 record over two seasons with a 4–8 conference record. Foley's short tenure as head coach was due to his poor record and not endearing himself to his players.
Hofstra
Foley spent three seasons at
Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...
as the assistant head coach, offensive coordinator, and offensive line coach. In his first year as coordinator, the team's total yardage increased from 269 to 388 yards per game and from 16.8 to 26.9 points per game. Foley also brought balance to the Pride attack as Hofstra's rushing total was its highest since 2000 (145 yards/game) and its passing attack netted 243 yards per contest.
Temple
In 2008, Foley joined the Temple coaching staff as the recruiting coordinator, tight ends coach, and assistant offensive line coach. On December 6, 2016, it was announced that Foley will act as interim head coach for Temple at the Military Bowl on December 27, after Matt Rhule was announced to be the new head coach for Baylor. Foley coached Temple in the 2016
Military Bowl. Following the Military Bowl, Foley was retained by
Geoff Collins as Temple's tight ends coach. In 2018, Foley was promoted to assistant head coach of offense. On December 7, 2018, Foley was once again named interim head coach of Temple for the
2018 Independence Bowl on December 27, after Collins left for the head coaching job at Georgia Tech.
Carolina Panthers
In 2020 Foley was hired as the assistant special teams coach for the
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...
under head coach Matt Rhule. The Panthers dismissed Foley from the team on October 10, 2022, following the dismissal of Rhule after the 5th game of their
2022 season.
Nebraska
In 2022, Foley joined the Nebraska Cornhuskers coaching staff as the special teams coordinator and assistant offensive line coach.
Personal
Foley is married and has three children. His brother,
Glenn Foley, played as a
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 ...
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) from 1994 to 1999. His father,
Ed Sr., was a quarterback at
Boston College
Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...
from 1963 to 1965.
Head coaching record
Notes
References
External links
Temple profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foley, Ed
1967 births
Living people
American football centers
American football offensive guards
Albany Great Danes football coaches
Baylor Bears football coaches
Bucknell Bison football players
Fordham Rams football coaches
Hofstra Pride football coaches
Jacksonville Dolphins football coaches
Penn Quakers football coaches
Temple Owls football coaches
Williams Ephs football coaches
Players of American football from Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Cherry Hill High School East alumni
Carolina Panthers coaches