Josh Cody - Coaching Career

Coaching Career

After he graduated in 1920, he became the head football coach and athletic director at Mercer. In 1923, he returned to Vanderbilt, where he became the head coach of the school's baseball and basketball teams. During that time, he also served as an assistant football coach to McGugin. Cody's 1926–1927 basketball team finished 20–4—the best record in school history—and won the Southern Conference tournament championship.

From 1927 to 1930, he was the head coach of the Clemson basketball and football teams. During his tenure, he compiled a 29–11–1 record as football coach, including a prefect 3–0 record against archrival South Carolina and a near-perfect 13–0–1 at home. He was 48–55 as basketball coach. Cody was popular among the Clemson student body, who called him "Big Man" because of his large stature. In May 1929, when rumors were swirling that he might leave to coach a bigger-name program, the students, faculty and staff took up a collection to buy him a brand new black Buick automobile.

In 1931, he returned to Vanderbilt as head coach of the basketball team and assistant football coach. In 1934, when McGugin retired, Cody was passed over for the head coaching job in favor of former Vanderbilt quarterback and SMU coach Ray Morrison. Morrison brought his own staff from SMU, but Cody remained basketball coach through the 1935–1936 season. His Commodores basketball teams tallied 51–50 in five seasons.

Disappointed at being passed over for the Commodores' football head coaching job, Cody left Vanderbilt in 1936 and, with McGugin's help, became athletic director and head football coach at Florida, where he compiled a 17–24–2 record in four seasons from 1936 to 1939.

In 1940, he left Florida and became the line coach under Ray Morrison at Temple. In 1942, he was appointed the head coach of the Temple basketball team. In 1944, he guided the Owls to their first NCAA Tournament berth, reaching the Elite Eight. He remained Temple's basketball coach until 1952—compiling a record of 124–103—and then became athletic director.

In 1955, after the sudden resignation of Albert Kawal, he served one year as Temple's head football coach, compiling an 0–8 record.

In 1959, at the age of 67, he retired to his 190-acre (0.77 km2) farm across the Delaware River in Moorestown, New Jersey. He died in Mount Laurel, New Jersey on June 17, 1961.