Coker’s journey to the Hall of Fame
In the early 1980s, coaching at the University of Tulsa didn’t look a lot different than coaching high school football.
It was a better quality of play, a more challenging job and a bigger stage.
But when Larry Coker made the jump from Claremore High School’s head coach in 1978 to being Tulsa’s offensive coordinator in 1980, his job duties didn’t change much.
“Larry was the offensive coordinator and the equipment manager. I was the defensive coordinator and the strength coach,” said Bill Young, who is back with the Golden Hurricane as defensive coordinator again. “Our offensive line coach was the academic advisor and he couldn’t spell academics.
“But that’s the way it was.
We did everything. We lined the fields and did all those things. But it was a fun time. We had a young staff. No big egos and we tried to do the best we could.”
It was a long way from where Coker would be two decades later, coaching Miami to the 2001 national title, then coming one play away from winning another a year later.
But to get the full scope of Coker’s career as he prepares to be inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in a Monday night ceremony at the Riverwind Showplace Theatre in Norman, you have to go back to his high school days in Okemah.
A multi-sport star, Coker thought his future was in basketball, so he signed on to play for legendary Henry Iba at Oklahoma State.
“I didn’t last long though, I’ll tell you,” Coker said. “I was a good defensive player and I liked to play defense, but it didn’t take long to figure out that Mr. Iba’s team was playing at a different level than I did.”
That led him to Connors State to give college football a try.
“I was so good that they just dropped football,” Coker said with a laugh.
So he left Connors for Northeastern State in Tahlequah, where he played out his career as a defensive back.
He began his coaching career at Fairfax High School, winning two Class B state championships.
Still, it might’ve seemed like Coker’s career path might be headed for Miami, Oklahoma, not Miami, Florida.
But once he made the jump from Claremore to Tulsa in 1979, Coker’s path to college coaching was laid out.
“That’s what I always wanted to do. It was always my goal,” Coker said. “But sometimes
it’s kind of a pipe dream, because it’s hard to do, especially coming from a small school.”
In 1983, Pat Jones hired Coker as his offensive coordinator, where he coached the likes of Rusty Hilger, Thurman Thomas, Barry Sanders, Hart Lee Dykes, and of course, current Cowboy coach Mike Gundy.
“Really great guy to play for,” Gundy said of Coker, who was the quarterbacks coach as well. “I spent a lot of time with him watching that old 16mm film and I have fond memories of being in that room and coming up with game plans.
“We had a relationship where we would joke and talk about things. A relationship a quarterback and his position coach should have in my opinion.”
After OSU, Coker was
Gary Gibbs’ offensive coordinator at Oklahoma, then reunited with Young and former Tulsa head coach John Cooper at Ohio State, where he spent two seasons coaching defensive backs.
In 1995, he landed at Miami as offensive coordinator for Butch Davis, eventually replacing Davis in 2001 and winning the national title as a rookie head coach.
Only two coaches in the history of the school — Dennis Erickson and Jimmy Johnson — had a better winning percentage than Coker’s .800 win rate (60-15).
“If there is a guy that ever got a bad deal, it's him,” said Gundy, who coached against Coker in his final stop at UT-San Antonio, where he finished in 2015. “He should still be coaching. I don't know what his record was when he got let go of at Miami but it was pretty good.
“He was one call away from winning another (championship). He is very deserving of everything he is given at this time.”
Coker turned 70 earlier this year, and spent more than four decades on a football sideline. Living in San Antonio, he has enjoyed the last three years away from the game, getting to be more involved with the lives of his grandchildren.
Despite his status as a coaching legend in the state, the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame nomination caught him off guard.
“I was a little surprised,” he said. “But I’m excited about it. It’s a great honor for me.”