Family, players remember former Mississippi Valley State football coach Archie 'Gunslinger' Cooley

For Archie Cooley's family, there were never any final goodbyes or emotional talks. For the past few years, Cooley had been in and out of the hospital staying in Fort Worth, Texas.

When Dwight Cooley tucked his father into bed on April 17, he told him, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You take care of yourself,” Archie Cooley replied, Dwight Cooley said.

Around midnight, the phone calls that no one wants to get began.

Though Cooley died that night at 85 years old, his spirit and the lives he touched live on.

Archie "Gunslinger" Cooley was best known for coaching quarterback Willie Totten and Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice in the "Satellite Express" offense at Mississippi Valley State in the 1980s. Cooley, Rice and quarterback Willie Totten put Delta Devils football on the map in the 1980s.

Family treasures life lessons taught by Archie Cooley

Through tears and sniffles, Dwight Cooley said he was proud of his father because he taught him how to be a man and that family was first, even during a hectic football season.

One of his favorite memories is how his father showed him how to take care of business and deal with racism at the same time.

"He would take me to the bank and talk to the bank tellers and the bank president while doing his banking," Dwight Cooley said. "My dad told me not to be intimidated by a person’s skin color. It was important to let people know that we take care of business."

Cooley’s daughter, Tracye Jasper-Monagan, said her father was always there for his children -- Dwight, Tracey and Lisa Cooley-Thomas -- and his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and that was his biggest win in life.

“My dad taught us to work hard in life and never, ever quit or give up,” Jasper-Monagan said.

Where Archie Cooley created the 'Satellite Express' offense

Cooley, who played football at Jackson State before going into coaching, became nationally known for his “Satellite Express” offense. Dwight Cooley said not many people know how his father came up with the offense.

Cooley won two high school girls basketball state titles as the coach at Southside in Heidelberg, Mississippi. He used to run a play with all five players at the baseline standing still. When the referee handed the ball to the player inbounding the ball, the other four players would take off running in different directions.

Archie Cooley figured if it worked in basketball, it would work in football.

How Archie Cooley kept Willie Totten from quitting at Mississippi Valley State

Totten, who is now the quarterbacks coach at Southern, said when he got to MVSU, there were seven quarterbacks ahead of him. Totten went in to Cooley's office and told him he wanted to quit.

“I know it is tough right now,” Totten recalled Cooley telling him. “I am not going to tell you what to do or try and talk you out of quitting. But if you quit now when things are tough, you’ll be quitting the rest of your life.”

Totten said he went back to his room, thought about it, and did not quit. He redshirted that year. He then teamed with Rice and set more than 50 NCAA Division I-A passing records.

Vincent Brown, a former MVSU linebacker who set the school record for career tackles (570) and is now football coach at North Carolina A&T, said Cooley took a kid from Atlanta and "made me a son."

“He was the reason I got into coaching," Browns said, "to impact young kids' lives for the positive.”

ARCHIE COOLEY FORMER SWAC LEGENDS DIES Archie Cooley, former Jackson State football player and Mississippi Valley State coach, dies at 85

How Archie Cooley got his 'Gunslinger' nickname

Dwight Cooley, Brown and Totten said Archie Cooley’s biggest win was when MVSU came into Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium and pulled a 52-31 upset of Jackson State in 1985. It had been 35 years since MSVU had beaten the Tigers.

After the game, Cooley celebrated by running around the stadium waving a MVSU school flag.

Dwight Cooley said his father used to wear baseball hats during the week at practice but wanted to inspire his team on game day. So, he began wearing cowboy hats. Former Clarion Ledger sportswriter Roscoe Nance told Cooley that he looked like a gunslinger while wearing the hat.

Cooley, who was born in Sumrall and raised in Laurel, Mississippi, continued to coach in the SWAC as he helped transition the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff from NAIA status to the SWAC from 1987-1990. He coached one season at Norfolk State and then at Paul Quinn College. He finished with a coaching record of 83-78-5.

Mr. Cooley will have visitation from 5-8 p.m., on Thursday at Laurel Land Funeral Home in Fort Worth, Texas

The funeral is scheduled for noon Friday at Genesis United Methodist Church in Fort Worth.

J.T. Keith is the HBCU Sports editor for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at JKeith@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @JTKEITH1.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Family, players remember football coach Archie 'Gunslinger' Cooley