Bluefield State University has let go of the man who restarted its football program.
Tony Coaxum has been fired as BSU head coach, HBCU Gameday has learned. Coaxum was told was that the school was moving in another direction.
Coaxum went 9-16 in three seasons as he took over as head coach in October 2020. He was hired to take over a program that had been dormant for over 40 years before former president Robin Capehart made the decision to re-start it – in the middle of the pandemic.
Tony Coaxum was hired to lead the charge. A three-year starter at Army, Coaxum came over from Northern Colorado.
Prior to Northern Colorado, Coach Coaxum served as a Senior Special Teams Analyst at Kansas under Les Miles. His other stops include one season at Central Michigan University as Special Teams Coordinator and Cornerbacks Coach (2018), Denver Broncos Assistant Special Teams Coordinator (2015-2017), Baltimore Ravens Special Teams Assistant (2014), and Army West Point Linebackers and Cornerbacks Coach (2007-14). Coaxum participated in the NFL’s Bill Walsh Minority Fellowship Program with the New York Giants (2008) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2012).
Bluefield State University went 4-3 in its return season in 2021 – less than a year after the program’s return was announced. It went 4-4 in 2022 before joining the CIAA in 2023. BSU won its season opener – a non-CIAA contest against Livingstone, then lost its final nine games.