Former collegiate head coach Carey Bailey was the Mocs' defensive line coach on Russ Huesman's staff in 2016. He came to Chattanooga after spending the previous four years as the defensive line coach at Lamar.
Under Bailey's guidance, Keionta Davis earned the SoCon Defensive Player of the Year honor, leading the SoCon with 10.5 sacks. He finished ninth in the Buck Buchanan Award voting, the highest in school history, and repeated as a consensus All-American. Vantrel McMillan also made the All-SoCon first team, while the Mocs led the league with 38 sacks.
Bailey was the head coach at Howard University from 2007-10 and has two decades of college coaching experience on his resume.
The Cardinals’ defensive line gained a ton of recognition across the country during Bailey’s tenure. Defensive end Jesse Dickson was the 2013 Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year according to College Sports Madness. He was also the Cardinal’s first All-American since restarting their program in 2010.
Between Dickson, and classmate Mark Murrill at the other end, the Cardinal duo combined to record 119 total tackles, 25 tackles for losses, 7.5 sacks and one interception in 2013. Throw in Omar Tebo (37 tackles, 6 TFLs) who fought his way into the starting lineup despite his underclassman status, and Bailey's troops presented a very imposing force.
Carey's line had a similar impact in 2014, but with new players. Senior Joe Okafor was moved from the interior back to the edge, while sophomore Omar Tebo took over at the tackle position. Okafor finished among the league leaders in sacks, while Tebo earned second-team All-Southland honors. All three starters on the LU defensive line earned all-conference recognition at season's end.
In addition to linemen, Carey has also produced some of the nation's top specialists. Led by CFPA National Punter Returner of the Year, Kevin Johnson, the Cardinals finished second in nation averaging better than 16 yards per return with three touchdowns in 2013.
Bailey has coached 14 players who went on to play professional football, and has coached 23 all-conference players and five All-Americans.
Prior to taking the top spot at Howard, Bailey spent two seasons as the defensive line coach at Minnesota. The Gophers played in a pair of bowl games while Bailey was on staff. Bailey also served as defensive line coach at Oklahoma State (2004) and Middle Tennessee (2003), helping the Cowboys to the 2004 Alamo Bowl.
Bailey spent five seasons coaching the defensive line, special teams and linebackers at Louisiana-Lafayette (1998-2002). During his tenure, the Ragin' Cajuns ranked second in the Sun Belt in total defense, twice led the league in punt returns and also led the conference in fumbles recovered and sacks.
His first full-time coaching job came at Virginia Military Institute where he was defensive line coach from 1995-98. Bailey also worked at West Virginia University as a graduate assistant.
Bailey has also participated in the NFL's Bill Walsh Fellowship Program on two occasions. He worked with the Atlanta Falcons' linebackers during training camp prior to the 2012 season. Last year, he worked with the linebackers with the New York Giants in the preseason.
While a player at Tennessee, Bailey helped the Volunteers to a pair of Southeastern Conference championships and four straight bowl appearances. As a junior, Bailey led Tennessee in sacks and tackles for loss. He earned his diploma from Tennessee in 1992.
Bailey and his wife Angela have two daughters, Evann Leigh and Leah Nicole.
Updated January 2017.
