Former New York Giants running back Tyrone Wheatley has been hired as the next head coach of Wayne State University.
Wayne State, located in Detroit, Michigan, is a Division II school in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).
WELCOME COACH.
Warrior fans, please give it up for the 20th head coach in #WarriorFB history, Tyrone Wheatley!
FULL RELEASE➡️https://t.co/02axLT4PB3#ThisIsOurDetroit pic.twitter.com/5eAkzcNp8f
— WSU Athletics (@waynestwarriors) January 26, 2023
Wheatley was born in Michigan and attended Robichaud High School before attending Michigan University. At Michigan, he was a part of the track team and a running back where he received Big-Ten Offensive Player of the Year honors in 1992 and was first-team All-Big Ten three years in a row.
Wheatley was selected by the Giants in the first round of the 1995 NFL Draft and spent the first three years of his NFL career in Giants blue. In 1999, Wheatley joined the Miami Dolphins. However, after being cut during training camp, Wheatley joined the Oakland Raiders for the remainder of his career (1999-2004).
Wheatley played in 46 games for the Giants, rushing for 1,280 yards and eight touchdowns. However, Wheatley’s best season came with the Raiders in 2000 tallying 1,046 yards and 10 total touchdowns (nine rushing, one receiving.)
His coaching resume includes being a head coach at the high school he attended, Robichaud (2007), and Morgan State University (2019-2021), a division I-AA school. He has also racked up quite the resume as a running backs coach serving stints with Ohio Northern University, Eastern Michigan University, Syracuse University, the Buffalo Bills, Michigan University, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Denver Broncos.
Wheatley becomes the 20th head coach in Wayne State’s 106th year of its football program. His path to landing the job has been that of a journeyman when it comes to coaching.
Once a Giant, always a Giant.
