Jan. 17—ATHENS — The Concord University athletic department has announced the hiring of Cody Edwards as the school’s next head football coach, Concord co-athletic directors Luke Duffy and Tesla announced Thursday morning Southcott.
Edwards comes to Concord as the program’s 22nd head coach after a stint as linebackers coach and special teams coordinator at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina.
Edwards spent the last three seasons at WCU where he first served as linebackers coach in the 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons before coordinating the Catamounts’ special teams in 2024 in addition to his defensive position coaching.
“I am excited and honored to be the head football coach at Concord University,” Edwards said. “This is an incredible opportunity, and I can’t wait to begin working alongside the student-athletes, faculty, staff and alumni to build something truly special in Athens!”
The 2024 WCU special teams were among the best at the Division I FCS level of football. The Catamounts had three special teams touchdowns, were one of 24 FCS teams to block at least two kicks, had a top-25 punt return game and finished first in the Conference South for goals scored. Working alongside WCU defensive coordinator Jerry Odom, Edwards helped produce a top-20 defense at the FCS level. Western Carolina finished in the top 25 in interceptions (21), total takeaways (26) and tackles for loss (79).
Over the past three years, WCU has posted a 20-14 record – Catamount football’s best run in 30 years – and knocked off five nationally ranked teams at the FCS level.
“My vision for Concord Football is rooted in a commitment to excellence, both on and off the field. We will strive to create a program that not only wins, but transforms student-athletes into leaders, hard-working hardworking and disciplined individuals,” Edwards said. .
“The foundation of our success will be discipline, responsibility and tenacity. I believe in fostering a culture of competitiveness, where every player is challenged to reach their full potential, and every coach is committed to growth and success of the team.
Prior to his time at Western Carolina, Edwards worked for Odom as defensive coordinator at Division II school Tusculum University in Greeneville, Tennessee. There, Edwards coordinated a South Atlantic Conference championship defense in the spring of 2021. Under Edwards’ leadership, the Pioneers’ defense was the best in the SAC and was in the top 20 in Division II during the TU’s 4-1 spring campaign.
Edwards took over Tusculum’s defense in 2019 and has consistently had a top-three defense in the SAC and a top-25 defense nationally. After the joint success in Tusculum, Odom was hired at Western Carolina to run the defense, with Edwards also making the move.
“We are excited to officially welcome Coach Cody Edwards and his family to the Mountain Lion family,” Duffy said. Coach Edwards has a storied career as an assistant at the Division I and Division II levels and brings proven leadership to Concord University football.
“We look forward to watching him put his vision into action. He understands the importance of building a championship culture that develops student-athletes on and off the field,” Duffy continued.
Before coming to East Tennessee, Edwards was the defensive coordinator at Keizer University, an NAIA school in West Palm Beach, Florida.
“Coach Edwards will bring a passion and work ethic that we are excited to see in the future,” Southcott said. “He comes from a blue-collar background and he will instill that in Concord football.
“Its recruiting connections in the region and surrounding states will help Concord attract student-athletes who share the same values as our campus and surrounding areas.”
A native of Haysi, Virginia, a small town in the far western part of the state, Edwards played wide receiver at UVa.-Wise, a former member of the Mountain East Conference, from 2006 to 2009. He graduated from UVa.-Wise in 2010 with a degree in business administration. Edwards went on to earn his master’s degree in organizational training and performance management from Tusculum in 2021.
Edwards’ first job in college coaching was in 2011 as a video coordinator for Emory & Henry. He joined the University of Tennessee in 2012 as a video intern before beginning to move up the coaching ranks as the safeties coach at John Carroll University in Ohio in 2013.
In addition to recruiting Carolinas during his last two coaching stops, Edwards recruited West Virginia, various areas of Florida as well as Georgia in Tusculum and West Carolina.
Edwards is married to Kaitlin Edwards and together they have a baby daughter, Reese.
Edwards will be officially introduced as Concord’s head coach during a news conference scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Carter Center.
The press conference is open to the public and will also be streamed at mountaineast.tv/concord.