Rickey Foggie (born July 15, 1966) is an American former

gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' ...

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 ...

. Foggie was the

starting Start can refer to multiple topics: * Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports * Starts use in sport race * Standing start, and rolling start, i ...

quarterback for the

Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college athletics, college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 21 (9 men's, 12 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and com ...

for four seasons, before going on to play professionally 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 ...

(CFL) and

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL).maconknights.com: Coaches
/ref> Foggie had a short tenure as the head football

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

for the Minnesota Myth AFL team.

College career

Foggie became a successful option quarterback in the

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

ranks and was recruited by

Lou Holtz Louis Leo Holtz (born January 6, 1937) is an American former college football coach and television analyst. He served as the head football coach at the College of William & Mary (1969–1971), North Carolina State University (1972–1975), the N ...

to play collegiately at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, where Holtz was coming in to take over the program, after surprisingly leaving powerhouse

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

. The Gophers were coming off a 1–10 season under Joe Salem, from the previous year, and it didn't take long for Foggie to assert himself as the

quarterback for Minnesota as a

true freshman The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

. The Gophers finished the 1984 season with a 4–7 record in Holtz’s first season as coach and Foggie’s first year as signal caller, as Foggie started to show off some of his versatile skills, both as a runner and a passer and give Minnesota fans a glimpse of a more promising outlook for the Gophers, with Foggie entrenched at quarterback. The season was topped off by a surprising upset over

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

and star quarterback

Chuck Long Charles Franklin Long Jr. (born February 18, 1963) is an American football coach and former player who is the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Arlington Renegades of the United Football League (UFL). He played as a quarter ...

, which returned the

Floyd of Rosedale Floyd may refer to: As a name * Floyd (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Floyd (surname), a list of people and fictional characters Places in the United States * Floyd, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Floyd, Iowa ...

to Minnesota after a two-year absence. In 1985, Foggie’s sophomore season, the Gophers made further strides to be a solid program, as they finished off the regular season at 6–5 and earned an invitation to the

Independence Bowl The Independence Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually each December at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Independence Bow ...

, which was their first bowl game in 8 years. Among the Gophers five defeats were close losses to

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

(who would go on to win the National Championship) and

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

. Meanwhile, when the Notre Dame

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

ing position became available, Lou Holtz was offered and accepted the job to coach the Irish. Assistant

John Gutekunst John Gutekunst (born April 13, 1944) is an American former college football coach and player. He served as the head football coach at the University of Minnesota from 1985 to 1991, compiling a record of 29–37–2. Gutekunst came to Minnesota in ...

was named the new head coach and led the Gophers in their bowl game against Clemson, which the Gophers won to raise their final season record to 7–5. The Gophers finished 6–5 the following year in 1986 and earn another bowl invitation – this time to the

Liberty Bowl The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic Cit ...

. They lost to

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

in this matchup. Foggie continued to develop into a better and more mature quarterback and was also helped along by the addition of talented freshman

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

Darrell Thompson Darrell Alexander Thompson (born November 23, 1967) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a running back for five seasons with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college ...

, who emerged as a star in the making, that season. The highlight of that season was the Gophers upset of

Rose Bowl Rose Bowl or Rosebowl may refer to: * Rose Bowl Game, an annual American college football game * Rose Bowl (stadium), Pasadena, California, site of the football game, and the home stadium of the UCLA Football team * Rose Bowl (cricket ground), West ...

bound

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

at '' The Big House'' – earning Minnesota the Little Brown Jug for the first time in 9 years. In Foggie’s senior year in 1987, the Gophers again finished 6–5, however, that year they failed to receive a bowl invite.

Professional career

Canadian Football League

Thought of as running quarterback who wouldn't succeed 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 ...

, Foggie was bypassed in the 1988 NFL draft. Although many felt he would have a better chance of making the NFL at another position, Foggie opted to remain a quarterback and joined the

. He started out in the CFL with the BC Lions backing up Matt Dunigan (reaching the Grey Cup final with the Lions in

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

), whom he followed to the Toronto Argonauts in 1990, in which he won the Grey Cup in

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

. where he was an instrumental part of the league’s highest scoring team. Foggie later played for the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

(winning another Grey Cup title with them in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

) and the

Memphis Mad Dogs The Memphis Mad Dogs were a Canadian football team that played the 1995 CFL season, 1995 season in the Canadian Football League. The Mad Dogs were part of a failed attempt to CFL USA, expand the CFL into the United States. They played at Liberty ...

in the CFL.

Arena Football League

Next, Foggie embarked on a career in the

, where he played eight seasons spanning 10 years. He started off his AFL career back in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, where he had starred collegiately, as the starting quarterback of the expansion Minnesota Fighting Pike, who only played one season at the

Target Center Target Center is a multi-purpose arena located in Minneapolis that opened in 1990. It hosts major family shows, concerts, sporting events, graduations and private events. Target Corporation, founded and headquartered in Minneapolis since 1902, h ...

in 1996. Then he quarterbacked the

New Jersey Red Dogs The Cleveland Gladiators were an arena football team based in Cleveland, Ohio, and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The Gladiators played their home games at Quicken Loans Arena, which they shared with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the N ...

from 1997 to 2000, where he attained his greatest success in the AFL, throwing for over 8,700 yards and 155 touchdowns in his first three seasons with the club. In 2001, he played for the

Florida Bobcats The Florida Bobcats were an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Sunrise, Florida. They were previously known as the Sacramento Attack and the Miami Hooters, and played in the AFL for a total of ten seasons, the last seven in West Palm Beac ...

, where he may have had his best season in the AFL – setting personal season highs with 3619 yards passing and 69 touchdowns. In 2002, he played for the

Detroit Fury The Detroit Fury were an arena football team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They were a member of the original Arena Football League from 2001 to 2004 and played at The Palace of Auburn Hills, also the home of the NBA's Detroit Pistons. The ...

and the

Toronto Phantoms The Toronto Phantoms were a professional arena football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The team was a member of the Eastern Division of the National Conference of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team also previously operated in New York Ci ...

, and then after a season off in 2003, he played one final season in 2004 with the

Carolina Cobras The Carolina Cobras were an expansion franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was formed prior to the 2000 season, which endured a player strike. The team was originally based in Raleigh, North Carolina, but moved to Charlotte followin ...

. He finished his AFL career with 17,921 yards passing, 325 touchdowns and a 96.38 quarterback rating.

Coaching career

At 38, Foggie retired on the playing field, but continued on in

arena football Arena football is a variety of gridiron football designed to be played indoors. The game is played on a smaller field than American or Canadian football, designed to fit in the same surface area as a standard North American ice hockey rink, an ...

as a coach. Foggie moved to the lower tier

af2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football r ...

to pursue this. In 2005 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 ...

of the

Amarillo Dusters The Amarillo Venom were a professional Indoor American football, indoor football team based in Amarillo, Texas. They played their home games at the Amarillo Civic Center. The Venom began play as the Amarillo Dusters in 2004 as a charter member ...

, he orchestrated the highest scoring offense in the af2, with a 55.8 average. In 2006, he got his only head coaching job to date, when he took over the

Everett Hawks The Everett Hawks were a professional minor league arena football team based in Everett, Washington. The team was in existence for five years (2002–07) in three leagues, the Northwest Football League (NWFL), the National Indoor Football League ...

after an 0–3 start. After only six games as the head man, there, Foggie was lured over to the

Macon Knights The Macon Knights were a professional arena football team, playing in the af2 league. They were a 2001 expansion member of af2. They played their home games at Macon Coliseum. The Knights were owned and operated by Beverly Olson. The Knights wer ...

by head coach Derek Stingley to be their offensive coordinator. In 2007, Foggie followed Stingley to

Albany, Georgia Albany ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Located on the Flint River, it is the county seat of Dougherty County, Georgia, Dougherty County, and is the sole incorporated city in that county. Located in Southwest Geo ...

to be the offensive coordinator for the

South Georgia Wildcats The South Georgia Wildcats were a professional arena football team based in Albany, Georgia. They were member of the South Division of the American Conference of Arenafootball2 (AF2). The Wildcats joined the AF2 in 2002 as an expansion team, a ...

. Foggie also agreed to be the offensive coordinator of

Burnsville High School Burnsville High School (BHS) is a four-year public high school in Burnsville, Minnesota, United States. Burnsville is a southern suburb about 15 miles south of Minneapolis. The school is part of Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District 191, whic ...

, a suburb of

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, after the af2 season ends. In 2014, Foggie accepted the position of head coach for the Red Wing (Minnesota) High School football team. Foggie was named head coach of the

Eagan High School Eagan High School (EHS) is a public high school in east-central Eagan, Minnesota, United States. The school opened in fall 1989 for ninth-grade students and for grades ten through twelve the following year. It is particularly noted for its fine ...

Wildcats, a metropolitan school in the Minnesota 6A South Suburban Conference, "accepting" the job May 13, 2016, after two seasons at Red Wing. But 10 days later Foggie was out, as a district communication specialist said that was never official and that Foggie had effectively changed his mind. Foggie asserted that he was forced to resign due to an accidental Twitter follow of a pornographic website. In November 2023, Foggie returned to the AFL as he was named head coach of the new

Minnesota Myth The Minnesota Myth (stylized as the Minnesota MYTH) were a professional Indoor American football, indoor football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Myth played their home games at the Target Center. They were announced as one of the inau ...

. On May 10, Foggie resigned as head coach of the Myth.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foggie, Rickey 1966 births Living people Sportspeople from Laurens, South Carolina American football quarterbacks Minnesota Golden Gophers football players Players of Canadian football from South Carolina Canadian football quarterbacks BC Lions players Toronto Argonauts players Edmonton Elks players Memphis Mad Dogs players Minnesota Fighting Pike players Anaheim Piranhas players New Jersey Red Dogs players Florida Bobcats players Detroit Fury players Toronto Phantoms players Carolina Cobras players Af2 coaches Players of American football from South Carolina Kansas City Command coaches Macon Knights coaches Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Arena Football League (2024) coaches