Johnnie Cole

Johnnie N. Cole is an American former football player and coach. He had been a high school and college football coach from 1986 to 2015, including as the head football coach at Lane College from 2005 to 2007 and at Texas Southern University from 2008 to 2010.

He had a career college football coaching record of 34–32. However, Cole had a history of ethical issues, resulting in 27 of his wins as a head coach being vacated and him being dismissed from multiple schools.

Early life and education Cole graduated from Dunbar High School in Dayton, Ohio. He then attended Texas Southern University, playing at quarterback for the Texas Southern Tigers football team from 1982 to 1985 and graduating in 1986 with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering.

Coaching career Assistant coach (1986–2004) From 1986 to 1991, Cole was an assistant quarterbacks and wide receivers coach at Texas Southern. Then in 1992, Cole was offensive coordinator and assistant head coach for Southwestern College in Kansas. Returning to the NCAA Division I level, Cole was wide receivers coach for Southern in 1993 and 1994. Under Cole's direction, the Tennessee State offense led every offensive statistic in the Ohio Valley Conference in a 9–3 season.

In 2000, Johnnie Cole followed L. C. to Alabama State. From 2000 to 2003, Johnnie was offensive coordinator and assistant head coach under head coach L. C. Another NCAA ethics violation followed. After an internal investigation by Alabama State found inappropriate recruiting methods, such as hiring strippers, both Cole brothers and another assistant were fired. However, all eight wins in 2006 were vacated due to the NCAA finding a lack of institutional control in the entire Lane athletics department.

Texas Southern (2008–2010) On December 1, 2007, Cole returned to Texas Southern to become head coach. The 2010 Texas Southern team finished 9–3 with the first Southwestern Athletic Conference title since 1968. In 2012, the NCAA released a report finding numerous ethics violations in Texas Southern football under Cole, such as participation by academically ineligible student-athletes and inappropriate recruiting assistance from a donor. Based on these findings, the NCAA issued a show-cause penalty banning Cole from employment at any NCAA member school for three years, and Texas Southern vacated wins in multiple sports, including all football wins under Cole. The NCAA upheld its decision in 2013 following an appeal.

Later career In 2011, Cole was offensive coordinator and assistant head coach at Fort Scott Community College.

In 2016, an internal investigation by the Fort Worth Independent School District recommended that Cole be fired after finding evidence that he had an inappropriate relationship with a student, despite the student recanting her allegations. The FWISD school board voted 5–3, however, not to terminate Cole, so the district reassigned Cole to an off-campus athletics administrative position that does not involve interaction with students.

Head coaching record