Rubin Carter named head coach at FAMU

July 19, 2005

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Carter was line coach at Temple

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Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Former Denver Broncos defensive tackle Rubin Carter will be introduced as Florida A&M coach Wednesday.

The 52-year-old Carter spent the last 16 months as defensive line coach at Temple. He replaces Billy Joe, who was fired last month along with two assistants amid an ongoing cheating probe. Joe was 86-46 in 11 years at Florida A&M.

"We said our goodbyes yesterday," said Patrice Cohill, Temple football administrative recruiting specialist. "We're going to miss him. He did a terrific job here."

Carter, who has never been a head coach, has little time to prepare for the start of the 2005 season. Players are due to report Aug. 7 and the season opener is Sept. 3 against Delaware State.

"I understand the players were saying he was their No. 1 choice," state Sen. Al Lawson, a 1970 Florida A&M graduate, said Tuesday. "Everyone that I've talked to gives him high praise."

The new coach is taking over a program in the midst of a school-wide funding crisis and an NCAA investigation into hundreds of rules violations throughout the athletics program.

FAMU was stripped of MEAC championships from 2000 and 2001 after an investigation showed 196 NCAA rules violations throughout its athletics program.

Carter, who played in Denver's 1978 and 1987 Super Bowl losses, spent a dozen seasons in the NFL before coaching 17 years at the pro and collegiate levels. His son, Andre, was the seventh overall pick in the 2001 NFL draft.