Terrell Buckley
Douglas Terrell Buckley (born June 7, 1971) is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League and current cornerbacks coach at Ole Miss. He also played professional baseball for the Mobile Baysharks in the Texas-Louisiana League.
| Ole Miss Rebels | |||||||||
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| Position: | Cornerbacks coach | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | June 7, 1971 Pascagoula, Mississippi | ||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 180 lb (82 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Pascagoula (MS) | ||||||||
| College: | Florida State | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1992 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| As coach: | |||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||
College career
Buckley was a two-year starter and three-year letterman at Florida State (1989–91), and left as the school's all-time leader in interceptions (21) and interception return yards (501).[1] His career interception yardage total of 501 is an NCAA record. He also tied school records for touchdowns off interception returns (four) and punt returns (three). He was named first-team All-American and won Jim Thorpe Award, given annually to nation's top cornerback, as a junior. He led the nation with 12 interceptions for 238 yards and two touchdowns. He was named second-team All-American by Associated Press, The Sporting News and The Football News as a junior. Had six interceptions with two returned for touchdowns. He finished 7th in the Heisman voting in 1991. He played two years of varsity baseball and was a sprinter on the outdoor track team for one year. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the NFL draft.
Professional career
Buckley is the only player with 50+ interceptions to never make a Pro Bowl. In a game against Cincinnati in 1992, his rookie season, Buckley set what remains a current record as the youngest player to return a punt for a touchdown in NFL history (21 years, 105 days). That was his only punt return for a touchdown of his career. On April 3, 1995, the Packers traded Buckley to the Miami Dolphins for "past considerations." In 1996, he led the league in interception return yards with 164.
He had at least one interception in 13 consecutive seasons. While playing for the New England Patriots, in the 2001 AFC Championship Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Buckley had an interception in the 24–17 win. He won a Super Bowl ring one week later in the win over the St. Louis Rams.
Coaching
Florida State
Buckley got his coaching start after earning his undergraduate degree from Florida State in 2007. From 2008–2011, he served in various assistant roles on Bobby Bowden and Jimbo Fisher’s staffs.
Akron
Finally getting his first on-the-field coaching position, Buckley was hired by his collegiate head coach's son, Terry Bowden, at the University of Akron in January 2012 to coach cornerbacks. This reunited him with Coach Chuck Amato and with Coach Todd Stroud—who he played for, and coached with at FSU.[2]
Louisville
After two seasons at Akron, he was hired as the cornerbacks coach at the University of Louisville in January 2014.[3]
Mississippi State
On January 7, 2016 Buckley was hired as the safeties coach at Mississippi State University[4][5]
Ole Miss
On January 18, 2020, Buckley was hired as cornerbacks coach[6] Ole Miss [7] by Lane Kiffin, the new Head Coach, MSU's rival (Buckley, having had phenomenal success in both recruiting and developing elite talent both on and off the field, and for grooming NFL talent).
Personal
Buckley has three daughters, Sherrell, Brianna and Britney. He majored in Theater with a minor in Political Science, and played baseball in the Atlanta Braves organization prior to reporting to GB training camp in July 1994. He is the son of Eddie Buckley Sr of Columbia, Ms and Laura Buckley of Pascagoula, Ms. He was a distant cousin of former Chicago Bears RB Walter Payton. His hobbies include baseball, basketball and golf. Has participated in events benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. He has worked on behalf of the national "Feed the Children" campaign. He assisted in building a house in Little Haiti for Habitat for Humanity during the 1999 offseason. Sports Talk radio host Jim Rome refers to Buckley as T-Buck and credits him as one of The Jungle's first guests who appeared consistently on the program. Rome credits Buckley as the inventor of the Lambeau Leap, based on an interview that Buckley gave.
References
- "Official New England Patriots Biography". patriots.com. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
- "UA's Terrell Buckley drawn to coaching to mold men, not just cornerbacks". Akron Beacon Journal Online. August 25, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
- "Petrino Completes Staff with the Hiring of Thomas and Buckley" (Press release). University of Louisville Athletics. January 17, 2014. Archived from the original on January 22, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
- U of L's Buckley headed for Miss. State
- Reports: Pascagoula legend Terrell Buckley to join Mississippi State staff
- Price, Christopher (May 18, 2020). "A dozen players on the 2004 Patriots team became coaches. What was it about that squad?". The Boston Globe. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
- "Terrell Buckley - Football Coach". Ole Miss Athletics. Retrieved May 19, 2020.