Archie Cooley

Archie "Gunslinger" Cooley (born in 1940) was the former college football coach at Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU) from 1980 to 1986, University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff from 1987 to 1991, Norfolk State University 1993, and Paul Quinn College from 2000 to 2006. At MVSU, Cooley is mostly remembered for being the head coach of NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice, and it was Cooley who brought MVSU to national attention in the early 1980s.

Early life

Cooley was born and raised in Sumrall, Mississippi. He played college football at Jackson State University under the late John Merritt. Cooley graduated in 1962.

Coaching career

The success Cooley achieved at MVSU is attributed to his design of his innovative "Satellite Express" passing offense, which was a 'No Huddle' offense featuring five wide receivers. Cooley led the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils to their only Division 1-AA playoff appearance in 1984. The 1984 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils football team set different passing, receiving, and scoring records that featured Jerry Rice and quarterback Willie Totten. To this day, Cooley is the winningest coach in the history of the Delta Devil football program. He also served as an associate professor of physical education at Mississippi Valley State.

In 1987 Cooley moved on to University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, which was then an NAIA member before the school moved up to the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) in the 1990s. He coached there for 4 years from 1987 to 1990, as served at athletic director and associate professor.

In 1993, Cooley was hired as head coach at Norfolk State University, where he stayed for only one year.

After a long hiatus from the coaching scene, Cooley returned when he became head coach at Paul Quinn College located in Dallas, Texas. Paul Quinn was an NAIA member school which was then establishing a new football program, and Cooley was responsible for starting the program from the ground up. He served as head coach from 2000 to 2006. The school was experiencing financial and accreditation issues and its administration decided to drop the football program after the 2006 season.

In 2007, Cooley was inducted into the SWAC Hall of Fame

References

• http://www.swac.org/hallfame/2007swachof.html Archie Cooley inducted to SWAC Hall of Fame
• http://smartfootball.blogspot.com/2009/04/archie-cooley-jerry-rice-and-satellite.html Archie Cooley, Jerry Rice, and the "Satellite Express"
• http://diverseeducation.com/article/12972/ Paul Quinn drops football