Chan Gailey (2013) - Hall of Fame - Troy University Athletics

Chan Gailey

Induction:
2013

Chan Gailey gave the Troy State football program a makeover upon his arrival in 1983. A football coaching veteran dedicated to his work, Gailey has a great sense of discipline while keeping focused on his faith.

Over the 1981-82 seasons, the Trojans captured just five victories. But, the tables turned when Gailey arrived to campus in 1983.

In his first year, the Trojans finished with a 7-4 overall record and a 4-3 record in the Gulf South Conference. That season obviously showed improvements, but it wasn’t until 1984 when the program saw a 180-degree turn.

Troy State opened Gailey’s second season with seven straight victories and finished the year with five straight wins, including an 18-17 win over North Dakota State in the National Championship Game on Ted Clem’s 50-yard field goal as time expired.

Mike Turk, former quarterback and fellow Troy University Sports Hall of Fame member, praised the juniors and seniors on the 1984 team for their perseverance, and credited much of the success to Gailey and his staff’s dedication to the game.

“What I remember about that team is the credit I felt like those guys deserved for staying with it, and believing in what Coach Gailey and his staff brought with them when the coaching change occurred,” Turk said.

“Coach Gailey was obviously a disciplinarian, very strict as far as details and little things that he harped on and preached to us,” Turk said. “He was a guy that all of us looked up to and a godly, Christian man.”

In Troy’s national title season, Turk and the team went through a lot of moments, both good and bad, but Turk specifically reflects on a post-game bus ride one Saturday night/Sunday morning.

“One late night after a game we were on the way back, everybody on the bus was asleep except me and I saw there was a light on in front of the bus. I kind of walked up there to see who it was so I’d have somebody to talk to.

“About the time I got to the front I realized it was Coach Gailey. I tried to sneak back because I didn’t want to bother him, but he saw me and told me to sit down. I asked him what he was doing and he said getting his Sunday school lesson ready for the next day. It was probably 2 o’clock in the morning on a bus on the way back from a game, and that really affected me that he was that dedicated spiritually. That’s just the kind of man he was,” Turk said.

Gailey’s accomplishments in his two short years as head coach of the Trojans left impacts for years on the rising program. His turnaround led to another Division II National Title in 1987 and helped lay the groundwork for the future of Troy football.

Gailey, who was also an assistant coach at Troy State (1976-78), moved to the NFL as an assistant coach with the Denver Broncos following the 1984 national championship season.

From there, Gailey spent more than 25 years with various NFL teams and colleges serving in various coaching roles, including most recently as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills (2010-12). Gailey has also served as head coach of the Birmingham Fire (1991-92), Samford (1993), Dallas Cowboys (1998-99), and Georgia Tech (2002-07).

Gailey was an all-state quarterback at Americus High School in Georgia, and went on to letter three years (1971-73) as a quarterback at Florida. He graduated from Florida in 1974 with a degree in physical education.

Gailey and his wife, Laurie, have two sons, Tate and Andrew, and one grandson, and reside in the Atlanta area.