James Ray Fuller (born August 5, 1969) is an American football coach and former

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

who is currently the offensive coordinator for the San Antonio Gunslingers of the National Arena League (NAL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Walla Walla CC and Portland State before being selected in the 8th round of the

1992 NFL Draft The 1992 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1992, at the Marriott Mar ...

; he went on to play three seasons with the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

and Philadelphia Eagles while also spending time in the World League of American Football (WLAF) for the

Scottish Claymores The Scottish Claymores were an American football team based in Scotland. The franchise played in the World League of American Football (later renamed NFL Europe) between 1995 and 2004, initially playing all home games at Murrayfield Stadium, E ...

and Arena Football League (AFL) for the Portland Forest Dragons. He later served as a coach for the Forest Dragons,

Bakersfield Blitz The Bakersfield Blitz were a professional arena football team based in Bakersfield, California. They were a 2002 expansion member of the AF2 and played their home games at Rabobank Arena. In 2001, the original Blitz was owned by Casey Wasserma ...

, Philadelphia Soul, Dallas Desperados, Dallas Vigilantes, Richmond Raiders,

Maine Mammoths The Maine Mammoths were a professional indoor American football, indoor football team that was a member of the National Arena League (NAL) for the 2018 season. Based in Portland, Maine, the Mammoths played their home games at the Cross Insurance ...

, and Jacksonville Sharks.

Early life and education

Fuller was born on August 5, 1969, in Tacoma, Washington. He attended Stadium High School and after graduating from there played two years of

Walla Walla Community College Walla Walla Community College (WWCC), often referred to as just “CC” locally, is a multi-campus community college in southeastern Washington state. History Walla Walla Community College was founded in 1967 by Peter Dietrich when the region ...

. He transferred to Portland State University in 1990 and led the team with 104 tackles in his first year at the school. As a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

, Fuller made 84 tackles, four sacks, four interceptions and earned all-conference honors.

Professional career

Fuller was selected in the eighth round (201st overall) of the

by the

. He was placed on injured reserve to start the season. He returned to the team late in the season and appeared in one playoff game. In , Fuller made the Chargers roster and appeared in ten regular season games as a backup, making eight tackles. The Chargers finished 8–8, missing the playoffs. Fuller was released by San Diego in September after being arrested for assault with a deadly weapon. After spending out of football, Fuller signed with the

of the World League of American Football (WLAF) in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

. He appeared in all ten games as a starter, making 47 tackles, one sack, and five interceptions for 46 yards. The Claymores won

World Bowl '96 World Bowl '96 (also referred to as World Bowl IV) was the fourth championship game of the World League of American Football (WLAF). It took place at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland on Sunday, June 23, 1996. The 7–3 Scottish Claymor ...

against the

Frankfurt Galaxy Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Frankfurt Galaxy: * Frankfurt Galaxy (NFL Europe), active in NFL Europe between 1991 and 2007 * Frankfurt Galaxy (ELF) The Frankfurt Galaxy is an American football team in Frankfurt, ...

. Fuller's performance with the Claymores impressed enough for him to be signed back into the National Football League (NFL) by the Philadelphia Eagles. He appeared in 13 regular season games, two as a starter, and made 19 tackles and an interception. He also played in their one playoff game. He was re-signed in but did not play. In , Fuller played four games in the Arena Football League (AFL) for the Portland Forest Dragons, making 14 tackles and a pass defended.

Coaching career

In , Fuller retired from playing and became the associate head coach and defensive coordinator of the Portland Forest Dragons, who were renamed the Oklahoma Wranglers in . In

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, Fuller became the head coach of the

AF2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football ru ...

. He led them to the Western Conference Championship in his first season. In , Fuller accepted a position as defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Soul in the Arena Football League. After the fifth game of the season, he was named interim head coach. As interim coach, he compiled a record of 4–7. In , Fuller became wide receiver and

s coach for the Dallas Desperados, where he served through . In , Fuller was named defensive coordinator of the Dallas Vigilantes. He later became interim head coach, leading them to a 2–8 record. Fuller was named head coach of the Richmond Raiders in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

. He served in that position for five seasons and led them to a record of 37–24. He was named Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2015. Fuller was named head coach of the

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, leading them to a 7–8 finish after a 1–7 start. In

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, Fuller became defensive coordinator of the Jacksonville Sharks. He was promoted to head coach in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, a position he served in until the end of the 2021 season. Fuller was named offensive coordinator for the Carolina Cobras for the 2022 season. On September 13, 2022, Fuller was promoted to head coach by the Cobras. On September 14, 2023, Fuller was named the offensive coordinator for the San Antonio Gunslingers of the National Arena League (NAL) for the 2024 season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuller, James 1969 births Living people American football defensive backs Portland State Vikings football players San Diego Chargers players Philadelphia Eagles players Scottish Claymores players Portland Forest Dragons players Oklahoma Wranglers coaches Philadelphia Soul coaches Dallas Desperados coaches Dallas Vigilantes coaches Jacksonville Sharks coaches Walla Walla Warriors football players