Recruiting Areas: Georgia, North Carolina, New Jersey (Northern), New York (Suffolk County, Long Island), South Carolina.
Jeff Fela, who brings more than 35 years of coaching expertise to the Big Red sidelines, joined the football coaching staff in the spring of 2010 and will serve as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for the third straight year in 2012. Fela will join Coach Kent Austin in developing the offensive gameplan.
Fela's offense broke all types of records in 2011 behind Bushnell Cup winner Jeff Mathews and third-team FCS All-American Shane Savage. Cornell set team records for passing yards (3415), completion percentage (.672), pass efficiency (159.8), yards per pass (9.1), passing yards per game (341.5), total offense yards per play (6.34), all-purpose yards per game (564.7) and points scored (313). The Big Red closed the season with a school-record eight consecutive games scoring 24 points or more, including a modern-day record 62 points in a win over Columbia. In all, six offensive players earned All-Ivy honors. His offensive line, which didn't feature a single senior, cut the number of sacks allowed from 49 in 2010 to 30 in 2011.
In his first season, Fela put three freshman starters into the offensive line mix to go along with a rookie quarterback and saw good early signs. The Big Red scored on 75 percent of its red zone opportunities with a tremendously young nucleus and saw significant improvement as the year went along. Freshman Jeff Mathews became the program's first Ivy League Rookie of the Year since 1989.
Fela brings an impressive resume of experience at the BCS and FCS levels, including stints at Tennessee Tech, Troy, William & Mary, Western Carolina, East Carolina and graduate assistantships at Colorado, Rutgers and Pittsburgh. His offenses have broken numerous school scoring, passing, rushing and total offense records over the years.
While at Troy, Fela's squads beat Missouri and Marshall in 2004 en route to a spot in the Silicon Valley Bowl. The 1980 Pitt team, with Fela as a graduate assistant, finished second nationally and won the Gator Bowl
A 1975 graduate of Southwestern College, he earned a degree in health and physical education. Fela was an all-conference wide receiver and team captain during his playing days at Southwestern.
* - updated December 16, 2011
