Former Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys and Georgia Tech Head Coach Returns to Lead the National Squad
CHARLESTON, SC –
Chan Gailey, the former Georgia Tech, Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys head coach, will return to the guide the National Squad for the 2nd Annual Medal of Honor Bowl, which will be played on January 10, 2015, at The Citadel’s Johnson Hagood Stadium.
“The Medal of Honor Bowl is thrilled to have an experienced NFL coach in Chan Gailey return as coach of our National Team,” said Medal of Honor Bowl Chairman Tom McQueeney. “Coach Gailey is perfect for this format. He’s well respected, experienced, and has taught players at every level. The players that came here last year expressed their admiration of his coaching style and insight to the business that is the NFL.”
Gailey guided the National Team in the Bowl’s inaugural year in 2014, but the American Team, which was coached by Ralph Friedgen, prevailed, 20-3. Friedgen is currently coaching at Rutgers University as their offensive coordinator and will not be available to coach in the 2015 game. The coach of the American Team will be announced soon, according to McQueeney.
After graduating from the University of Florida in 1974 where he was a three-year quarterback for Doug Dickey(1971-73),Gailey stayed with Florida as a graduate assistant for two years before taking his first true coaching job as the secondary coach for Troy State University in Alabama. After two seasons there, he spent four seasons with the Air Force Academy, including two as defensive coordinator under Ken Hatfield. In 1983, he took over the head coaching duties at Troy, where he led the Trojans to a 12–1 record in 1984 en route to the Division II championship.
Prior to serving as a NFL head coach, Gailey coached under Dan Reeves with the Denver Broncos (1985–90), Bill Cowher of the Pittsburgh Steelers (1994–97), Dave Wannstedt of the Miami Dolphins (2000–01) and Herman Edwards of the Kansas City Chiefs (2008).
In 1985 Gailey moved to the NFL when the Denver Broncos signed him as a defensive assistant and special teams coach. The team made three Super Bowl appearances during his six-year tenure. In 1991, Gailey left the NFL to become the head coach of the Birmingham Fire of the World League of American Football, where the team made the playoffs in both years that he was coach.
After a one-year stint as head coach at Samford University, he returned to the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He started as the wide receivers coach, and then moved to offensive coordinator for the 1996 and 1997 seasons. The Steelers won their division all four years, and made one Super Bowl appearance.
In 1998 Gailey was hired to take over a struggling Dallas Cowboys squad, one that had faltered under Barry Switzer during his last year. Gailey’s Cowboys won the NFC East in 1998, and made the playoffs under his two years at the reins. Gailey remains the only Cowboys coach to make the playoffs every season with his team.
He returned to the offensive coordinator role, this time with the Miami Dolphins for the 2000 and 2001 seasons.
Gailey was hired by the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in 2002 to replace George O’Leary. In his first five years at Georgia Tech, Gailey compiled a 37–27 record and went to bowl games each year, winning the 2003 Humanitarian Bowl (a 52–10 win over Tulsa) and the 2004 Champs Sports Bowl (a 51–14 victory over Syracuse). The 2006 season was his most successful at Georgia Tech as the Yellow Jackets won the ACC Coastal Division.
In 2008 Gailey became the offensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs and was introduced as the 15th head coach of the Buffalo Bills on January 19, 2010, replacing interim Head Coach Perry Fewell.
A native of Gainesville, Georgia, Gailey graduated in 1970 from Americus High School where he earned letters in basketball, baseball and golf. In football, he was an all-state selection as quarterback.
Gailey, 62, won’t be the only NFL man in town. The premier all-star event expects to have around two-hundred NFL scouts, coaches, and general managers in attendance when practices begin on January 5.
The Medal of Honor Bowl is a premier all-star game that features the nation’s top draft-eligible college football players as projected for the NFL draft. The game honors the Congressional Medal of Honor recipients with expected proceeds dedicated to the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation. The new Medal of Honor museum is planned for Patriot’s Point.
For player confirmations and news surrounding the game, follow @MOHbowl on Twitter and on Facebook at Facebook.com/MOHbowl
Coach Chan Gailey (Year-by-Year)
1974-75 Florida (Graduate Assistant)
1976-78 Troy State (Defensive Backs)
1979-80 Air Force (Defensive Backs)
1981-82 Air Force (Defensive Coordinator)
1983-84 Troy State (Head Coach)
1985-86 Denver Broncos (Tight Ends / Special Teams)
1987 Denver Broncos (Wide Receivers / Tight Ends)
1988 Denver Broncos (Quarterbacks Coach)
1989-90 Denver Broncos (Offensive Coordinator / Wide Receivers)
1991-92 Birmingham Fire (Head Coach)
1993 Samford (Head Coach)
1994-96 Pittsburgh Steelers (Wide Receivers)
1997 Pittsburgh Steelers (Offensive Coordinator)
1998-99 Dallas Cowboys (Head Coach)
2000-01 Miami Dolphins (Offensive Coordinator)
20002-07 Georgia Tech (Head Coach)
2008 Kansas City Chiefs (Offensive Coordinator)
2010-12 Buffalo Bills (Head Coach)
About the Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is America’s highest military honor, awarded for personal acts of valor above and beyond the call of duty. The medal is awarded by the President of the United States in the name of Congress to US military personnel only. There are three versions of the medal, one for the Army, one for the Navy, and one for the Air Force. Personnel of the Marine Corps and Coast Guardreceive the Navy version.