Super Bowl champion Terrell Buckley named Mississippi Valley State football coach

Posted by author January 22, 2025 Football

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Mississippi Valley State football is bringing a former NFL Super Bowl champion to lead its program.

The Delta Devils announced Terrell Buckley, a former NFL standout and College Football Hall of Famer, will be the school’s new coach.

Buckley, 53, is a native of Pascagoula, Mississippi, a former Florida State standout and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. Buckley was part of the New England Patriots’ Super Bowl 36 team in 2001.

“We’re going to build a culture of accountability, hard work, and belief – because winning starts with the standards we set and the mindset we bring every single day,” Buckley said in a school release Tuesday.

Buckley takes over for Kendrick Wade, who led MVSU to a 1-11 record in 2024. Wade went 2-21 in his two seasons leading the Delta Devils.

“We are thrilled to welcome Coach Buckley as the new head coach of the Mississippi Valley State University football team,” interim athletic director George Ivory said. “He brings a winning mindset, a deep commitment to developing our student-athletes both on and off the field and a vision that aligns perfectly with our program’s values.”

At Florida State, Buckley recorded a program-record 21 interceptions from 1989-91, winning the Jim Thrope Award and All-America honors. Buckley was the No. 5 overall pick by the Green Bay Packers in the 1992 NFL draft. Buckley had 50 career interceptions over a 14-year playing career. After three seasons with Packers, Buckley played for the Miami Dolphins (1995-99). He was a journeyman after that with the Denver Broncos (2000), Patriots (2001), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2002), Patriots (2002), Dolphins (2003), Patriots (2004), New York Jets (2004), and New York Giants (2005).

Buckley started is coaching career as an assistant at Florida State in various roles before becoming a cornerbacks coach at Akron (2012-13), Louisville (2014-15), Mississippi State (2016-19) and Ole Miss (2020-21). Buckley was most recently the coach of XFL’s Orlando Guardians in 2023. The Guardians went 1-9 in 2023 before folding as a franchise.