Mike Furrey brings NFL credentials and a solid record for coaching and community service to Limestone College.
Furrey is the Saints’ second-ever head coach.
“We are absolutely thrilled to announce Coach Furrey as our head football coach,” said Mike Cerino, Limestone athletics director. “With his deep knowledge of the game and his understanding of what it means to be successful on the field, in the classroom, and in the community, I know that he will continue to build the Limestone football program in all the right ways.”
He spent three seasons as the wide receivers coach at Division I Marshall University and two seasons as the head coach at Kentucky Christian University.
Furrey was named the head coach of a struggling Kentucky Christian program in January 2011. He turned the program around as the team went from 0-11 in 2010 to 7-4 and a national Top-25 ranking in 2012.
He had an eight-year playing career in the NFL with the St. Louis Rams, the Detroit Lions, the Cleveland Browns, and the Washington Redskins.
Twice nominated for the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Award while with the Detroit Lions, Furrey was a finalist for the prestigious award during the 2009 season as a member of the Cleveland Browns.
His best year as a professional came during the 2006 season with the Detroit Lions as he led the NFC with 98 receptions – a mark that set an NFL non-rookie record for most receptions in a season after having none the previous year. Furrey was named the Lions’ Co-Offensive Player of the Year after posting 1,086 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
After signing with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2000, Furrey spent one season with the Las Vegas Outlaws in the XFL before playing two years with the New York Dragons of the Arena Football League. He would then sign with the St. Louis Rams in 2003, playing in 13 games during his rookie year. He helped guide the Rams to the NFC Divisional Round as a safety a year later.
Furrey was a three-time All-American while at the University of Northern Iowa after spending his freshman season as a walk-on at Ohio State University. While with the Buckeyes, the team won the 1997 Rose Bowl with a thrilling 20-17 win over Arizona State.
In 2007, he founded the Mike Furrey Foundation and has since raised more than $500,000 to help improve the lives of those who are hurting, hungry, hopeful, and/or homeless. He also serves as the board president for Basket of Hope with former NFL coach Tony Dungy as the organization’s spokesperson.
Furrey graduated from UNI in 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies. He and his wife Koren are the parents of Makayla, Stone and Kanon.