Where Are They Now: Don Coffey

NOTE: This Where Are They Now feature on Don Coffey first appeared in the Sept. 26 Memphis Football GameDay program when the Tigers hosted Navy.

His name appears on page 185 of the 2019 University of Memphis football guide, listed among some of the greatest receivers the program has produced.

Ask Don Coffey what he did in 1961 to secure a spot in the Tigers' record book and he, apologetically, describes what led to a three-touchdown game against Tulsa.

45007 — *Coffey shows his support for the Tigers.*

"None of them (the TD catches) were outside the 10-yard line," said Coffey, 80 years old and a retired educator living in Jackson, Tenn. "On their goal-line defense (Tulsa) didn't set up a defense to guard against the quick slant. They never did adjust."

As a result, Coffey still ranks second in school history with his three TD receptions, a mark topped by only Chicago Bears wideout Anthony Miller, who leads in practically every UofM receiver category.

Coffey played for legendary Tigers coach Billy Murphy, who was averse to the passing game. Coffey often heard Murphy, in classic coach-speak, talk about how three things can happen when a football is thrown, two of them (incomplete pass, interception) being bad.

Yet Coffey was able to have a memorable, productive afternoon, one matched in subsequent seasons by, among others, Stan Davis (three against Ole Miss in 1971); Russell Copeland (three against Tennessee in 1992); and Anthony Miller (three against Western Kentucky in 2016 and three against UCF in 2017). Miller stands alone atop the category with a four-TD game against UConn in 2017.

Coffey said playing for Murphy, the ex-Marine, was an experience in itself. Known for his toughness and discipline, Murphy quickly shaped the Tigers into a prominent program, one that went 33-5-1 from 1960-63.

"I came in during 1957 under (former Coach Ralph) Hatley," Coffey said. "I was there when Coach Murphy came in that spring (of 1958). We started spring practice in January when he got there and we didn't quit until school got out.

"He put down mats in the (Elma Roane) Fieldhouse (when the team couldn't practice outside due to weather) and we went one-on-one. We didn't have facemasks. We just had a bar across the front of the helmet. I remember having no skin on my nose and forehead after all those practices."

While he admits Coach Murphy was "tough as nails," he also said there was another side of Murphy few got to see.

"I get emotional when I talk about this," said Coffey. "What I found out later on after I stopped playing for him was he was the kindest, soft-hearted, caring man that I knew. When I played for him, I had a lot of respect for him, but I was scared to death of him, too."

Coffey remains close to Tigers athletics. He serves on the Board of Directors with the M Club and has season football tickets. He said he enjoys attending events surrounding a football game, especially the social aspect.

As much as he contributed to Tigers football during his playing days, Coffey made his mark as an educator in the Mid-South. He served as principal at White Station High School in the 1980s and early 1990s. After retiring from the Memphis City Schools system, he moved to Jackson, Tenn., in 1994 to take a headmaster's role with University School of Jackson (USJ). He spent 10 years at USJ and briefly returned in 2007 in an interim role.

"I started teaching and coaching in Memphis (in the 1960s) and then got into administration," Coffey said. "I actually went down to the Board of Education and worked in personnel hiring coaches for the Memphis city schools for a while before becoming principal at White Station High for a long time."

He didn't go directly into an educator's role after college. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers of the NFL and the Los Angeles Chargers of the AFL and spent time with the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad in 1962 and Denver Broncos in 1963.
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"I tell everybody it took four teams and two years for people to figure out I couldn't play at that level," Coffey said. "But it was a good experience."

The best experience, he said, was as a member of the Steelers' practice squad in 1962.

"I've never seen a more generous and caring family than the Rooneys," Coffey said of the Steelers' owners.

The Rooney family (Art, Dan, Art II) have owned the franchise since its inception in the early 1930s. Coffey was one of two players on the taxi squad who did not get activated, yet Art Rooney invited both of them to Miami for a year-end runner-up bowl.

"Art walked into the locker room (before the trip to Miami)," Coffey said. "He came up to me and called me by name and says 'You are part of this team, we are taking you to Miami with us.' I was impressed that a guy with that much power and money called me by name, much less invited me to spend a week in Miami when he knew I wasn't going to play. That showed me the class of that family."

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