Jerry Sullivan (born July 13, 1944) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach who was an offensive assistant for the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He's spent 25-years in the NFL, 24 of them as a wide receivers coach. He also spent over 20-years as a college football coach.

Collegiate coaching career

His first coaching job was with Kansas state in 1971. From 1973 to 1974, Sullivan was an assistant coach with the

Texas Tech Red Raiders The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas. The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders, while the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raide ...

under head coach

Jim Carlen James Anthony Carlen III (July 11, 1933 – July 22, 2012) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at West Virginia University (1966–1969) and Texas Tech University (19 ...

. Sullivan then became wide receivers coach at

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

from 1976 to 1982. In 1983, he spent a one-season as the

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the Nationa ...

wide receivers coach. From 1984 to 1990, Sullivan moved to

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

as the wide receivers coach and he was also the wide receivers coach at

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

in 1991. In 2017, Sullivan returned to the college ranks as a football consultant at LSU primarily focusing on wide receivers. On January 11, 2018, he moved to a full-time role on the coaching staff as senior offensive assistant/passing game coordinator. On January 9, 2019, Sullivan announced his retirement.

Professional coaching career

In 1992, Sullivan moved to the professional coaching ranks with the NFL

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 ...

. He remained Chargers wide receivers coach until 1996. He then became the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

wide receivers coach from 1997 to 2000. Starting in 2001, he was wide receivers coach with the

for two-seasons before being promoted to

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...

for the

2003 NFL season The 2003 NFL season was the 84th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). Regular-season play was held from September 4, 2003, to December 28, 2003. Due to damage caused by the Cedar Fire, Qualcomm Stadium was used as an emergenc ...

. Sullivan then became the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

wide receivers coach in 2004 and from 2005 to 2010 he was the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

wide receivers coach. From 2012 to 2016, he was the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

wide receivers coach. On August 12, 2019, it was announced Sullivan would rejoin the Cardinals as an offensive assistant & help coach the Cardinals' wide receivers. On May 10, 2022, it was announced Sullivan had retired again after the 2021 season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Jerry 1944 births Living people Arizona Cardinals coaches Detroit Lions coaches Florida State Seminoles football players Indiana Hoosiers football coaches Jacksonville Jaguars coaches Kansas State Wildcats football coaches LSU Tigers football coaches Miami Dolphins coaches National Football League offensive coordinators Ohio State Buckeyes football coaches San Diego Chargers coaches San Francisco 49ers coaches South Carolina Gamecocks football coaches Texas Tech Red Raiders football coaches Sports coaches from Miami Players of American football from Miami