Mr. High School Football...Gene Cox

By Jim Joanos

When Gene Cox retired in 1996 he had won more games than any other high school football coach in the history of the State of Florida. As a head football coach at four different schools over a period of 38 years he had won 313 games. His teams won two state championships and finished second two times. The victories also included fifteen district and eight regional championships. In all he had ten undefeated regular seasons. He was named the Florida High School Coach of the year six times.

It has been seven years since Cox retired and his record of 313 wins has not yet been broken, although, finally, at least one coach is closing in on the record. Whether the record gets broken or not, Cox will always be known as one of the truly great high school football coaches of all time. In 1988 he was inducted into the State of Florida Sports Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the Florida Athletics Coaches Hall of Fame and the Florida High School Athletics Association Hall of Fame (formerly known as the Florida High School Activities Hall of Fame). In 1998, the Tallahassee high school football stadium was named for him. This story is about Cox and some of his former players who also played for FSU.

Throughout his adult life, Gene Cox has been strongly aligned with Florida State University. He got a bachelor's degree from FSU in the spring of 1956 after having played on the 1954 and 1955 Seminole football teams. In his high school coaching years from 1956 through 1996, he coached at least 29 players that became FSU football players. As an all star coach, he coached many more like T.K. Wetherell, Mike Goode, Pat Tomberlin, Sammie Smith and Deion Sanders who also played college football at Florida State.

A HIGH SCHOOL STAR

Cox was born and raised in Lake City. At Lake City's Columbia County High School, he participated in three sports, football, basketball, and track. His last high school football season as a player (1951), he led Columbia High to a perfect 10-0 record and the Championship of the Northeast Florida Conference. I can personally attest to Cox's high school abilities as I was a member of the Tallahassee Leon High team that Cox's Columbia High team beat us in both his junior and senior high school seasons. Cox was definitely "the star" of his team and one of the best high school running backs that I have ever seen. Lots of people would agree with that view as Cox was selected to the All Southern All Star team as a halfback after the 1951 season. He was also selected to the North Florida All Star team and played in the Florida North-South All Star game following his senior year. He scored the first touchdown of the game in which the North team beat the South team for the first time in the game's history. Two of the guys who played on the same team with him in that all star game and later at FSU were John Griner and George Boyer. The south team that they played against included Bobby Crenshaw who would become a teammate at FSU.

Following his senior year in high school Cox signed a scholarship to play at Vanderbilt. However, in preseason practice in Nashville, Cox injured his knee and had to undergo prolonged rehabilitation. As a result, he decided to transfer to South Georgia Junior College where five of his former Columbia High School teammates had gone. At SGJC, he played two years and did well enough to gain the attention of the Florida State coaches. By that time, Tom Nugent had become FSU's head coach. Consequently, after being recruited mainly by assistant coaches Vaughn Mancha and Bob Harbison, Cox came to FSU on scholarship along with two other South Georgia players, Ashton Cassedy and Charlie Kicklighter.

FSU PLAYER

Cox played at FSU, for two seasons, 1954 and 1955. The 1954 season was Nugent's second at FSU and under his leadership, the Seminoles were using what was a very new innovation in college football, the "I" formation. The 1954 team went 8-3 during the regular season and played Texas Western (now known as the University of Texas at El Paso) in El Paso's Sun Bowl. That game was only the second bowl game in FSU history and was the first bowl game outside the State of Florida in which a State of Florida team played. In 1955, FSU went 5-5. At FSU, Cox was excellent at running the ball but because of his height (5' 7") was limited on defense and consequently played sparingly. In those days, due to rules limiting substitution, most players were required to play both ways, on offense and defense. Cox did manage to start at least a couple of games for FSU during the 1955 season. It did not help his cause that he usually played the same halfback position as did Lee Corso who was also an excellent running back and, most importantly, a very outstanding defensive back. Consequently, although Cox had a solid career at FSU, he did not spend a lot of time in the spotlight. That would come later as a high school coach. At FSU, Cox observed and learned a great deal from Nugent, especially about the passing game and methods by which players could be motivated. While Cox's primary inspiration in coaching would come from his studies of Vince Lombardi, he also credits what he learned from Nugent as being very helpful.

Cox's first job out of college was as an assistant coach at Jefferson County High in Monticello in 1956. In 1958, he became the head coach at that school. At Jefferson, Cox served as head coach for three years and racked up twenty-four wins and only seven losses. One of the guys he coached at Jefferson, Don Watson, later became an FSU player.

Cox's next job as a head coach was at Suwanee High in Live Oak where he would spend two years and pick up seventeen wins against only four losses. His 1962 team went 11-0 and became the first team in the Live Oak school's history to go undefeated and untied. From Cox's Live Oak teams, four players went on to play football at Florida State. They included Johnny Hurst, Del Williams, Dale McCullers, and Theron Bass. Williams and McCullers became All Americans at FSU during FSU's "glory days" under Coach Bill Peterson. Del Williams is one of the most outstanding linemen ever to play at Florida State. He played for FSU from 1964-66 which included two bowl teams, the 1964 Gator and the 1966 Sun Bowl teams. He was named to the Associated Press Second Team All American team at the end of the year. After his Seminole career he played seven years in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints. When Bill McGrotha published his book Seminoles! The First Forty Years, in 1987, it included an all time FSU team that had been selected by Bob Harbison, the legendary former assistant coach at FSU. Williams was listed as the "strong guard" on the team. Cox regards Del Williams as "the best lineman that I ever coached, bar none". Cox says that Williams' "character was top notch" and that he was not only successful in the NFL but with his automobile dealership in New Orleans". Williams endowed a scholarship at FSU before his early death of Lou Gehrig's disease.

McCullers was a Third Team AP All American in his last varsity season (1968) at FSU. He was a mainstay at linebacker for FSU during his years in garnet and gold, 1966-68. In all three of his varsity years, the Seminoles ended their seasons in bowl games, the Sun Bowl (1966), the Gator Bowl (1967) and the inaugural Peach Bowl (1968). It was the first time that FSU had gone to a bowl game in three consecutive years. McCullers was a tackling machine. During the 1967 season McCullers had a total of 180 tackles, 108 outright and 72 assists, and ranks only second to Aaron Carter's total of 181 in 1977. By contrast, of Carter's 181 only 82 were unassisted. McCullers performance in 1968 of 163 total also still ranks as number four on the all time FSU season list. He is the only player in FSU history that is currently in the all time top ten for two seasons in tackles for a season.

Theron Bass was still an underclassman when he played for Cox at Live Oak. Bass would grow, come to FSU and play a vital role on FSU's 1968, 69, and 70 teams as a linebacker.

COACH AT LEON HIGH

In 1963, Cox became the head football coach at Leon High School in Tallahassee. It was at Leon High, within the shadow of Florida State, that Cox reached his zenith as the premier Florida high school football coach of all time. His Leon teams won the two state championships and placed second twice. His overall record at Leon was 238-67-4. While at Leon, he produced at least twelve high school All Americans. His players were recruited by numerous major college programs throughout the South including Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, and Georgia Tech. He even coached a kicker that later kicked for Michigan. Sixteen of his quarterbacks in a row went on to play in college.

However, it was to Florida State that Leon High football under Cox's leadership served as a factory producing football players. At least twenty-five Cox coached players from Leon went on to FSU to play. They included Chuck Eason, Robert Ashmore, Hal Hodges, Stan Walker, Buddy Gridley, Ryals Lee, Jr., David Miles, Mike Norman, Jr., Eddie Pope, Billy Sexton, Detroit Reynolds, Mike Shumann, Jesse Forbes, Ivory Joe Hunter, Wally Woodham, Jimmy Jordan, Kurt Unglaub, Sam Childers, Blair Williams, John Feagin, Darrin Holloman, Tanner Holloman, Terry Warren, Chris Miller, and Tamarick Vanover. The vast majority of them not only played at FSU but were starters there.

In addition to Williams and McCullers who had played for Cox at Live Oak, Coach Peterson's 1966 FSU Sun Bowl team included Chuck Eason from Leon. The great 1967 team that went 7-2-1 during the regular season and tied Penn State in the Gator Bowl included not only McCullers, but Eason and Stan Walker as well. In 1969, Walker, an offensive lineman was the recipient of the coveted Bob Crenshaw award for the FSU player with the "biggest heart".

Players who had played for Cox at Leon were extremely important at FSU as part of the building years under Coach Bobby Bowden. In Bowden's first season at FSU, 1976, the roster included no less than six players who had played for Cox at Leon: Ivory Joe Hunter, Jimmy Jordan, Detroit Reynolds, Ryals Lee, Kurt Unglaub, and Wally Woodham. The roster of the 1977 team that beat the University of Florida for the first time since 1967 and went on to demolish Texas Tech, 40-17, in the Tangerine Bowl also included six players that had played high school ball under Cox: Mike Shumann, Jesse Forbes, Ivory Joe Hunter, Wally Woodham, Jimmy Jordan and Kurt Unglaub. After earning four letters as a star wide receiver at FSU, Shumann went on to play six years in the National Football League.

The 1979 FSU team that was the first in the school's history to play in the Orange Bowl Classic also had six former Cox players on the roster including three quarterbacks, Wally Woodham, Jimmy Jordan, and Blair Williams as well as defensive back Ivory Joe Hunter, tight end Sam Childers and wide receiver Kurt Unglaub. Hunter, Woodham, and Mike Goode were the three team Captains of that historic team.

Woodham and Jordan occupy a very special place in FSU football history. Both had been High School All American quarterbacks for Cox at Leon. In his senior year at Leon, 1975, Woodham set new national high school passing records. In the year following, Jordan broke all of those records. Both chose to play their college years at FSU. For three seasons, 1977, 78 and 79, they shared the quarterback spot for the Seminoles. They were called, "Wally Jim Jordham-the two-headed quarterback" by a number of sports writers. Bowden would start one or the other in each game. If the starter stalled, he would bring in the other who would pick up the slack. What they did together was huge. In those three years, FSU went 10-2, 8-3, and 11-1. Their last season, 1979, the Seminoles were undefeated in the regular season and made the school's first ever trip to play in the Orange Bowl game. Although they lost the Orange Bowl game to Oklahoma, when it was all over they were ranked sixth nationally by the Associated Press. It was the very first season in which FSU finished the year in the top ten.

FSU quarterback Blair Williams was awarded the Bob Crenshaw "biggest heart" award at the end of the 1982 season. On a rain drenched, foggy and cold night in Jacksonville, Williams had led the Seminoles in their 31-12 victory in the Gator Bowl game against West Virginia. Blair Williams was chosen to start the game instead of Kelly Lowrey who had shared the position during the year. Coach Bowden chose Williams because he had discovered in an earlier practice when it had rained that Blair could throw a wet ball. The result was a gutty performance by Williams who completed 16 of 30 pass attempts on a soggy night for 204 very important yards.

The last Cox coached player to play for FSU was Tamarick Vanover. Vanover, an All American wide receiver and kick returner was on the 1992 team as well as the National Championship team of 1993. He went on to play and star for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. Unfortunately his pro career ended early because of off the field problems.

FSU FARM TEAM???

For thirty-one years, beginning in 1963 with Del Williams from Live Oak through the 1993 national championship season when Tamarick Vanover played for the Seminoles, Cox had provided FSU with players. During that span, at least one writer described Cox as running a "farm team" for FSU.

Cox insists that he did not steer his players to go to FSU, although it was his alma mater. In many cases, he did not have to as the players had been raised almost in the shadow of Doak Campbell Stadium and did not need much encouragement to go there to play their college football. Another factor that played into the relationship was that Coach Bobby Bowden and Bob Harbison, the FSU Assistant Coach in charge of recruiting the Tallahassee area at the time, had a great deal of confidence in players coached by Cox and recruited them. This, of course, was the same Bob Harbison who had played a big role in recruiting Cox himself to play at FSU. FSU had a great deal of success with Cox coached players so they sought more of them. On one ocassion in 1978, Harbison was quoted in the Tallahassee Democrat as describing Coach Cox players as being: "mentally and physically tough. After most players get here (FSU), a strain starts wearing on them. But his players seem to take it better than most".

There are lots of good stories about Cox. One of them has to do with Deion Sanders. Among his many honors, Cox was named the Florida team's head coach for the first Florida-Georgia All Star game in 1985. It was during that game that he coached Deion Sanders. Cox has always been an adept recognizer of talent. Sanders, a high school quarterback from North Fort Myers, had not been named among the original group of twenty-four players named to that team. Cox saw to it that he was added to fill one of the remaining slots. After looking at Sanders in the first few pre game practices, Cox was quoted as proclaiming Sanders "the most outstanding athlete on the team". Lots of people were surprised as the Florida team that Cox was coaching included a number of much more heralded players. Time proved Cox to be a very wise evaluator of talent.

In 1991 after having spent thirty-five years as a high school coach and teacher, Cox retired from state employment. For five years, he continued coaching at a private school, Aucilla Christian, near Monticello. At Aucilla, his teams won another 32 games giving him the total of 313 wins.

OUTSTANDING METHOD

Cox's coaching method was to each year adopt a system of offense and defense that took advantage of the talents and strengths of that year's players. Consequently, during the early years of his coaching he employed such vastly different offensive schemes as the Wing T, the Run and Shoot, the Wishbone, as well as the pro style drop back passing method. In later years, he combined the various methods into what he called the "Multiple Offense" which employed all four of the earlier schemes, depending upon his team's talent as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the teams he faced. He was also a believer in having his very best athletes on the field. If an injury occurred, the slot would usually not be filled by the number two man at that position on the depth chart. Instead Cox would decide who was the best player not currently a starter and figure a way to get that man into the lineup. Often, this would involve moving several people around to get the best fit. Rarely, unless there was a blowout, would he play more than a total of fifteen or sixteen players. Although there was free substitution, most of his players were expected to and did play both ways, on offense and defense. Many of the assistant coaches who worked with Cox during his career became head coaches themselves. At least four of them went on to win state championships in their own right.

RETIREMENT

Since 1996, Cox has been retired from coaching. He and his wife of forty four years often take very interesting trips across America. They especially enjoy traveling by train. They have grown kids and grandchildren that they enjoy immensely. Nevertheless, Cox has also stayed close to football. He attends FSU Varsity Club activities. He also participates in booster and old timers events at Leon High. Recently, he compiled an excellent book on the history of Leon High School football. In the book, he traces the complete history of Leon football from 1916 when it began through the year 2001. The book is full of interesting photos and stories. He spent over four years of his free time on the project and in the process interviewed hundreds of people. The book has been quite popular among alumni of Leon High School.

Cox is a deeply religious person. While at Leon, he began the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at the school. For many years, he has traveled and spoken at numerous FCA events. He gives freely of his time in that endeavor.

Recently, I talked with Cox. He says that his "goal has always been to help someone succeed. That has been my motivation because a lot of people have helped me to succeed." He is very glad that he had the chance to play at FSU "and have the coaches there". He says he "admired and looked up to them". In addition to his coaches, he credits two physical education professors for having taught him a lot: Don Veller, the former football coach, and Katie Montgomery, who was head of the Women's Physical Education Department at the time.

Billy Sexton, current running backs coach at FSU, who not only played for Cox while at Leon High, but served as an assistant football coach on Cox's staff immediately before going to FSU as an assistant, describes Cox's attributes as follows: "(1) He is a quality person who stands for all of the right things in everything; (2) He is a great leader who was very innovative, on the cutting edge of football developments, and knew what he was doing; and (3) He is tough as nails". That sums it up pretty well.