Rick Comegy – Tuskegee University to Jackson State
Comegy’s head coaching career started unceremoniously, as he went 0-11 in back-to-back seasons at Cheyney State University. He would land at Central State on Billy Joe’s staff as a defensive line coach. When Joe made the move from the NAIA power to FCS Florida A&M, Comegy got moved up. He went 18-3 in two seasons, with an NAIA championship in 1995.
From there he went to Tuskegee, where he won double-digit games in six of his 10 seasons. He led the program to six SIAC titles and the 2000 black college football national championship.
Like Richardson, he was hired at a Jackson State program that had high expectations in the SWAC. He went 6-5 in his first season before winning the SWAC the following season with an 8-4 record. JSU would win the SWAC East and make the championship game under Comegy six times in his eight seasons, but he would only lead the program to one title. He went 55-35 during his time at Jackson State.
Rod Broadway – North Carolina Central to Grambling State
Rod Broadway played his college ball at a PWI like the previous three coaches. He spent the early part of his career coaching at them as well, but eventually, he was given a shot as a head coach by Bill Hayes. Broadway turned a struggling North Carolina Central program around after a 4-6 season and led it to a 33-11 record, including back-to-back CIAA championships and HBCU national titles, in his final three seasons.
Broadway’s 33-11 record at NCCU landed him the hallowed job at Grambling State University. He went 8-4 his first season at GSU, winning the SWAC West and earning a title shot against Comegy and Jackson State. He wouldn’t win that game, but the following year he led GSU to a SWAC title. He would compile a 35-12 record at Grambling State in four seasons before heading off to right the ship at North Carolina A&T.
Darrell Asberry – Shaw University to Texas Southern
Darrell Asberry had a notable coaching career at Shaw University before attempting to transition to the FCS level at Texas Southern University. During his tenure at Shaw University from 2006 to 2011, Asberry led the Bears to a 39-26 overall record. His teams won three CIAA championships in 2007, 2008, and 2010, and made two NCAA Division II playoff appearances (Wikipedia) (HBCU Gameday).
In 2012, Asberry was hired as the head coach at Texas Southern University, a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) member in the FCS. His transition to the FCS level, however, proved challenging. Over four seasons, Asberry’s teams struggled, compiling a 12-31 overall record with a 9-27 mark in conference play. His best season came in 2014 when the team finished 5-6 overall (Wikipedia) (HBCU Gameday) . Despite his efforts, Asberry was unable to replicate his success from Shaw at Texas Southern, and his tenure ended after the 2015 season.
Read about more coaches on Page Three (Down).