Samuel David Wyche was an American football quarterback and coach. He was a quarterback and head coach for the Cincinnati Bengals and a quarterbacks coach for the San Francisco 49ers. As head coach, he led the Bengals to Super Bowl XXIII, which they lost to the 49ers 20–16, relinquishing the lead on a last-minute touchdown. He was also known for introducing the use of the no-huddle offense as a standard offense.
Rodriques "Rod" Wilson is a former American football linebacker and coach who is a defensive assistant for the Kansas City Chiefs. He was selected by the Chicago Bears in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at South Carolina. He also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and briefly for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He has also coached at Charleston Southern University.
Dick Sheridan was an American college football coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Furman University from 1978 to 1985 and North Carolina State University from 1986 to 1992, compiling a career college football record of 121–52–5. A 1964 graduate of the University of South Carolina, Sheridan coached the Furman Paladins to a 69–23–2 record over eight seasons. His Furman teams won six Southern Conference championships and scored two wins over NC State. In 1985, he was named the AFCA Division I-AA Coach of the Year. His record at NC State was 52–29–3 over seven seasons. He led the Wolfpack to six bowl games. Sheridan was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2020.
Arthur Baker was an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Furman University (1973–1977), The Citadel (1978–1982) and East Carolina University (1985–1988). Baker was a 1948 graduate of Edmunds High School in Sumter, South Carolina and a 1953 Presbyterian College graduate and also was a former assistant football coach there. Baker played football for the Blue Hose from 1950 to 1952, starting at halfback his last two years. He was a member of Mu chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. Baker was a recipient of Presbyterian's Bob Waters Award. He was an assistant coach for Frank Howard at Clemson from 1965 to 1969. From 1970 to 1972, Baker was an assistant coach at Texas Tech. Baker succeeded Bob King at Furman for the 1973 season. As head coach at Furman Baker hired Dick Sheridan, Jimmy Satterfield and Bobby Johnson as assistants and all later became head coaches at Furman. Baker was an assistant coach in 1984 for Bobby Bowden at Florida State. He was Associate Athletics Director for Development and Gamecock Club Director at the University of South Carolina for six and a half years before retiring on June 30, 1995.
The Furman Paladins are the varsity athletic teams representing Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, in intercollegiate athletics.
Alfred Lloyd "Flucie" Stewart was an American basketball and football coach. He served as the head football and basketball coach for the Appalachian State Mountaineers located in the town of Boone in Watauga County, North Carolina. Stewart also was head basketball coach at Furman University for two years.
Charles Summerville Roller Jr. was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Furman University from 1901 to 1902 and at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) from 1907 to 1908, compiling a career coaching record of 14–10–5. Roller led the 1902 Furman Baptists football team to wins over North Carolina A&M and South Carolina. From 1903 until 1913 Furman did not field a football team.
Robert Emory Lamb is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach for Anderson University, located in Anderson, South Carolina, a position he has held since 2024. He was previously the head football coach at Mercer University, a position he assumed in 2011 when Mercer reinstated their football program after a 72-year hiatus. The Mercer Bears football program resumed play in 2013. Lamb served as the head football coach at Furman University from 2002 until his resignation in 2010.
Robert Burrow King was an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Furman University from 1958 to 1972. He had previously been an assistant football coach for ends at the University of Illinois for 11 years. He is a member of the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame and was Southern Conference Media Coach of the Year in 1970. He graduated from Furman in 1937 where he played on the football team. He was succeeded by Art Baker as Furman head coach in 1973.
The Furman Paladins football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the Furman University located in the state of South Carolina. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as members of the Southern Conference (SoCon). The school's first football team was fielded in 1889. The team plays its home games at the 16,000 seat Paladin Stadium in Greenville, South Carolina.
James Satterfield was an American football coach. He served as head football coach at Furman University from 1986 to 1993, where he compiled a record of 66–29–3.
William Lawrence Laval was an American minor league baseball player, baseball manager, and college baseball, football, and basketball coach. He held head coaching positions at the University of South Carolina, Furman University, Emory and Henry College, and Newberry College. He is the only South Carolina football coach to have produced seven consecutive winning seasons. In 2009, The State called him "the greatest collegiate coach" in the history of South Carolina.
Robbie Caldwell is a retired American football coach, and previously served as the offensive line coach for Clemson University. Caldwell was formerly the head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores football team. He has also been an assistant coach at Furman University, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Vanderbilt University. On February 2, 2011 Clemson University named Caldwell offensive line coach to replace the retiring Brad Scott.
Fred John "Steve" Furman was an American college football player and coach, athletics administrator, and lawyer. He served as the head football coach at Mississippi Agricultural & Mechanical Collegenow known as Mississippi State University—from 1907 to 1908, compiling a record of 9–7.
The 1923 Furman Purple Hurricane football team represented the Furman University as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) during the 1923 college football season. Led by ninth-year head coach Billy Laval, the Purple Hurricane compiled an overall record of 9–2 with a mark of 4–1 in conference play, winning the SIAA title for the second consecutive season. Blackie Carter was the team captain.
William Hall Napier is an American football coach currently serving as head coach at the University of Florida. From 2017 until 2021, he served as head coach at the University of Louisiana, amassing a 40–12 record in four seasons with three consecutive 10+ win seasons and two seasons finishing in the AP Poll, both firsts in the programs' history. Prior to Louisiana, he served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Arizona State University in 2017.
The 2018 Furman Paladins team represented Furman University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by second-year head coach Clay Hendrix, the Paladins compiled an overall record of 6–4 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, sharing the SoCon title with East Tennessee and Wofford. After tiebreakers, Furman did not receive the SoCon's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs and the team did not receive an at-large bid. Furman home games at Paladin Stadium in Greenville, South Carolina.
Herman Edward "Red" Smith was an American football, baseball, and track coach. He served as the head football coach at Hampden–Sydney College in Hampden Sydney, Virginia from 1939 to 1941 and Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina from 1948 to 1949, compiling a career college football coaching record of 15–28–1. Smith was also the head baseball coach at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina in 1936.
Andrew Danny Cronic is an American college football coach. He is the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the United States Naval Academy, a position he has held since 2024. He was the head football coach at Mercer University from 2020 to 2023. He was also the head football coach for Reinhardt University from 2015 to 2016 and Lenoir–Rhyne University from 2018 to 2019. He also coached for West Georgia, James Madison, and Furman. He played college football for Georgia as a wide receiver.
George Quarles is an American college football coach who is currently the tight ends coach at Austin Peay. He was the head football coach at East Tennessee State University from 2022 to 2023. Prior to East Tennessee State, he was the associate head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach at Furman University, where he played college football. Before he joined the Furman coaching staff, Quarles was the head coach at Maryville High School in Tennessee from 1999 to 2016, where he recorded a 250–16 record.
