Terrell Buckley

Terrell Buckley

No. 27, 22
Position:	Cornerback
Personal information
Born:	(1971-06-07) June 7, 1971 (age 52) Pascagoula, Mississippi, U.S.
Height:	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:	180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High school:	Pascagoula
College:	Florida State (1989–1991)
NFL draft:	1992  / Round: 1 / Pick: 5
Career history
As a player:
Green Bay Packers (1992–1994) Miami Dolphins (1995–1999) Denver Broncos (2000) New England Patriots (2001–2002) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2002)* Miami Dolphins (2003) New England Patriots (2004)* New York Jets (2004) New York Giants (2005)
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
As a coach:
Florida State (2007) Assistant safeties coach Florida State (2008) Assistant wide receivers coach Florida State (2009) Graduate assistant Florida State (2010–2011) Weight room coach Akron (2012–2013) Cornerbacks coach Louisville (2014–2015) Cornerbacks coach Mississippi State (2016–2019) Cornerbacks coach Ole Miss (2020–2021) Cornerbacks coach Orlando Guardians (2023) Head coach
Career highlights and awards
As a player Super Bowl champion (XXXVI) Jim Thorpe Award (1991) Jack Tatum Trophy (1991) Unanimous All-American (1991) Second-team All-American (1990) Florida State Seminoles Jersey No. 27 honored
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles: 546 Interceptions: 50 Interception yards: 793 Pass deflections: 64 Forced fumbles: 10 Fumble recoveries: 15 Sacks: 2 Total touchdowns: 8
Head coaching record
Career:	1–9 (.100)
Player stats at NFL.com  ·  PFR
College Football Hall of Fame

Douglas Terrell Buckley (born June 7, 1971) is an American football coach and former player. He played as a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles, earning unanimous All-American honors in 1991.

He also played professional baseball for the Mobile Baysharks in the Texas–Louisiana League.

College career

Buckley was a two-year starter and three-year letterman at Florida State (1989–91), and left as the school's all-time leader in interceptions (21) and interception return yards (501). ^[1] His career interception yardage total of 501 is an NCAA record. Buckley also tied school records for touchdowns off interception returns (four) and punt returns (three). He was named first-team All-American and won Jim Thorpe Award, given annually to nation's top cornerback, as a junior. Buckley led the nation with 12 interceptions for 238 yards and two touchdowns. He was named second-team All-American by Associated Press, The Sporting News and The Football News as a junior. Buckley had six interceptions, with two returned for touchdowns. He finished seventh in the Heisman voting in 1991. Buckley played two years of varsity baseball and was a sprinter on the outdoor track team for one year. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the 1992 NFL Draft with the fifth overall pick. ^[2]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span
5 ft 9+1⁄8 in (1.76 m)	174 lb (79 kg)	29+3⁄4 in (0.76 m)	8 in (0.20 m)
All values from the NFL Combine [3]

Buckley is one of only two players (the other being Ken Riley) with 50+ interceptions to never make a Pro Bowl. In a game against Cincinnati in 1992, his rookie season, Buckley set what remains a current record as the youngest player to return a punt for a touchdown in NFL history (21 years, 105 days). That was his only punt return for a touchdown of his career. He responded to criticism of his tackling by giving himself the nickname “the Vaccinator”. The nickname would stay with him over the years if only in an ironic sense. On April 3, 1995, the Packers traded Buckley to the Miami Dolphins for "past considerations." In 1996, he led the league in interception return yards with 164.

He had at least one interception in 13 consecutive seasons. While playing for the New England Patriots, in the 2001 AFC Championship Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Buckley had an interception in the 24–17 win. He won a Super Bowl ring one week later in the win over the St. Louis Rams.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Year	Team	Games		Tackles				Interceptions					Fumbles
		GP	GS	Comb	Solo	Ast	Sck	Int	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	FF	FR	Yds	TD
1992	GB	14	12	32	—	—	0.0	3	33	11.0	33	1	0	4	0	0
1993	GB	16	16	48	—	—	0.0	2	31	15.5	31	0	0	0	0	0
1994	GB	16	16	59	48	11	0.0	5	38	7.6	26	0	3	1	0	0
1995	MIA	16	4	26	23	3	0.0	1	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1996	MIA	16	16	53	46	7	0.0	6	164	27.3	91	1	2	2	0	0
1997	MIA	16	16	85	67	18	0.0	4	26	6.5	12	0	1	2	23	1
1998	MIA	16	16	51	44	7	0.0	8	157	19.6	61	1	2	2	0	0
1999	MIA	16	11	44	38	6	1.0	3	3	1.0	18	0	0	0	0	0
2000	DEN	16	16	38	35	3	0.0	6	110	18.3	33	1	0	0	0	0
2001	NE	15	1	27	25	2	1.0	3	76	25.3	52	1	0	0	0	0
2002	NE	16	2	22	22	0	0.0	4	50	12.5	39	0	0	0	0	0
2003	MIA	16	5	51	40	11	0.0	2	75	37.5	74	1	1	4	8	0
2004	NYJ	16	0	10	8	2	0.0	3	30	10.0	18	0	1	0	0	0
2005	NYG	4	0	Did not record any stats
Career		209	131	546	396	70	2.0	50	793	15.9	91	6	10	15	31	1

Coaching career

Florida State

Buckley got his coaching start after earning his undergraduate degree from Florida State in 2007. From 2008 to 2011, he served in various assistant roles on Bobby Bowden and Jimbo Fisher’s staffs.

Akron

Finally getting his first on-the-field coaching position, Buckley was hired by his collegiate head coach's son, Terry Bowden, at the University of Akron in January 2012 to coach cornerbacks. This reunited him with Coach Chuck Amato and with Coach Todd Stroud—who he played for, and coached with at FSU. ^[4]

Louisville

After two seasons at Akron, he was hired as the cornerbacks coach at the University of Louisville in January 2014. ^[5]

Mississippi State

On January 7, 2016, Buckley was hired as the safeties coach at Mississippi State University ^{[6] [7]}

Ole Miss

On January 18, 2020, Buckley was hired as cornerbacks coach ^[8] Ole Miss ^[9] by Lane Kiffin, the new Head Coach, MSU's rival (Buckley, having had phenomenal success in both recruiting and developing elite talent both on and off the field, and for grooming NFL talent).

XFL

On April 6, 2022, it was reported that Buckley had accepted a job with the XFL to become the Head Coach of an upcoming Orlando franchise (the former Tampa Bay Vipers). The league confirmed Buckley's hiring, but not the existence of a team in Orlando, on April 14. ^[10] On July 25, 2022, the XFL confirmed a franchise in Orlando, Florida with Buckley announced as head coach. ^[11] On October 31, 2022, the team was branded the Orlando Guardians ^[12] On January 1, 2024, it was announced the Guardians would not be apart of the UFL Merger. ^[13]

Head coaching record

XFL

Team	Year	Regular season				Postseason
		Won	Lost	Win %	Finish	Won	Lost	Win %	Result
ORL	2023	1	9	.100	4th XFL South	—	—	—	—
Total		1	9	.100		—	—	—

Personal life

Buckley has three daughters, Sherrell, Brianna, and Britney. He majored in Theater with a minor in Political Science, and played baseball in the Atlanta Braves organization prior to reporting to GB training camp in July 1994.^{[ citation needed ]} He is the son of Eddie Buckley Sr. of Columbia, MS and Laura Buckley of Pascagoula, MS. He is a distant cousin of the late Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton. His hobbies include baseball, basketball and golf. Has participated in events benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. He has worked on behalf of the national "Feed the Children" campaign. He assisted in building a house in Little Haiti for Habitat for Humanity during the 1999 offseason. Sports Talk radio host Jim Rome refers to Buckley as "T-Buck" and credits him as one of The Jungle's first guests who appeared consistently on the program. Rome, inaccurately, credits Buckley as the inventor of the Lambeau Leap, based on an interview that Buckley gave.

References

1. "Official New England Patriots Biography". patriots.com. Retrieved September 13, 2010.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
2. "1992 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
3. "Terrell Buckley, Combine Results, CB - Florida State". nflcombineresults.com. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
4. "UA's Terrell Buckley drawn to coaching to mold men, not just cornerbacks". Akron Beacon Journal Online. August 25, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
5. "Petrino Completes Staff with the Hiring of Thomas and Buckley" (Press release). University of Louisville Athletics. January 17, 2014. Archived from the original on January 22, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
6. U of L's Buckley headed for Miss. State
7. Reports: Pascagoula legend Terrell Buckley to join Mississippi State staff
8. Price, Christopher (May 18, 2020). "A dozen players on the 2004 Patriots team became coaches. What was it about that squad?". The Boston Globe. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
9. "Terrell Buckley - Football Coach". Ole Miss Athletics. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
10. "Terrell Buckley Set to Join XFL as Head Coach of New Orlando Franchise". Pro Football Newsroom. April 7, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
11. "Orlando to host XFL franchise coached by Terrell Buckley". Orlando Sentinel. July 25, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
12. "Orlando's new XFL team is the Guardians". Orlando Sentinel. October 31, 2022. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
13. "Orlando Guardians won't move forward after USFL-XFL merger". Orlando Sentinel. January 1, 2024. Retrieved January 1, 2024.

External links

• Terrell Buckley at the College Football Hall of Fame