Ruzell McCoy was elevated to Interim Head Coach effective January 4, 2023.
"We are excited to announce Ruzell McCoy as the Interim Head Coach for SWOSU Football," said SWOSU Athletic Director Todd Helton. "Coach McCoy is a Bulldog through and through who has done an outstanding job as both an assistant and coordinator at SWOSU since 2019. We are confident he is ready and able to continue the momentum we have built in the football program."
McCoy, a former All-American linebacker at SWOSU, had just concluded his first year as Defensive Coordinator prior to his appointment as Interim Head Coach after spending the past three years as the Defensive Line Coach.
McCoy patrolled the field for the Bulldogs from 2005-08, recording 283 tackles and 44.5 tackles for loss, marks that both rank third at SWOSU in the NCAA Division II era. He was a two-time First Team All-Lone Star Conference selection and the North Division Linebacker of the Year after ranking second in the conference with 107 tackles during his senior season. That same year, McCoy was selected a First Team All-American by the Don Hansen Football Gazette and he went on to be named SWOSU’s Male Athlete of the Year for the 2008-09 school year.
After graduation from SWOSU in 2010, McCoy began his coaching career alongside former Bulldog Head Coach Ryan Held at Highland Community College, where he served as the Scotties’ Defensive Coordinator from 2012-2015. He then moved on to Coffeyville Community College as Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach during the 2016-17 seasons and coached last season as the Associate Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator at McPherson College. Most recently, McCoy was named the Defensive Coordinator at Ellsworth Community College in 2019.
A native of Frederick, Okla., McCoy holds two degrees from SWOSU, having completed a bachelor’s degree in Parks & Recreation in 2009 before finishing a master’s degree in Sports Management in 2010. He resides in Weatherford with his wife, Sara, and their three children: Kynna, Trey and Zella.
THE McCOY FILE
Coaching Career
2023-present: SWOSU (Interim Head Coach)
2021-22: SWOSU (Defensive Coordinator)
2019-21: SWOSU (Defensive Line)
2019 (Spring): Ellsworth CC (Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers)
2018: McPherson (Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers)
2016-17: Coffeyville CC (Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers)
2014-15: Highland CC (Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers)
2012-13: Highland CC (Defensive Line/Linebackers)
Playing Career
2005-08: SWOSU
Three-year starting Linebacker
First Team All-American (2008)
Lone Star North Linebacker of the Year (2008)
Third in SWOSU history for Tackles & Tackles for Loss
Education
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Bachelors, Parks & Recreation, 2009
Masters, Sports Management, 2010
