Former Steelers WR Jerricho Cotchery will soon be looking for a new job, from the sound of things. After one season as head coach for the Limestone University Saints, he appears to be out. Not for anything he did, because the entire team is going with him. Indeed, due to severe financial constraints, the university is considering dumping the entire athletic department.
Limestone University has been in operation since its founding in 1845 in South Carolina. But its days may be numbered without either immense help or immense change. Yesterday, the university’s Board of Trustees announced that it would have to move to an online-only model without an emergency influx of $6 million. As a consequence of that, Jerricho Cotchery and his football team would be on the chopping block. Indeed, the situation is so dire that the university as a whole may fold, including virtually.
“While full closure remains a risk, the institution is considering a scenario that would discontinue all in-person academic operations and all other activities, including athletics, in Gaffney”, a press release reads. The university hired Cotchery just last year, and the team had a successful season.
While never a star, Jerricho Cotchery was a professional and productive player in the NFL. Drafted by the Jets in the fourth round in 2004, he had a 12-year playing career. That included a three-year stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers, which featured one very productive year.
After Mike Wallace left in free agency in 2013, Cotchery ascended the Steelers’ depth chart. That year, he had a magic connection with Ben Roethlisberger, catching 10 touchdown passes. The expectation was that he would re-sign, but he ended up with the Carolina Panthers. The pivot was made partly due to familial consideration. Cotchery also went to NC State.
After playing for the Panthers for two seasons, he quickly pivoted into coaching. After serving on the Panthers’ staff for three seasons, Cotchery was out of coaching during the early years of the pandemic. In 2022, he accepted an assistant head coach and wide receivers job at Limestone University. Two years later, he earned the promotion to head coach, and the Saints finished 8-3. The year before he joined the staff, they won one game.
While nothing is definite, it certainly doesn’t appear that the Limestone University Saints will be playing another football game. Unless some wealthy benefactor intervenes, Jerricho Cotchery will have to search for another opportunity.
Some years ago, Cotchery interviewed for the Steelers’ wide receivers coach job. That was in 2020, right after the Panthers’ new head coach—now long gone—opted not to retain him. The Steelers hired Ike Hilliard, and they are already two coaches removed since then.
After two years of Hilliard, the Steelers moved on to Frisman Jackson, who also lasted only two years. The team traditionally hires position coaches to two-year contracts, and very rarely fires them. Zach Azzanni joined the staff as wide receivers coach in 2024. Should Cotchery start polishing up his resume for 2026?
