Western Carolina University

Corey Headley joined the Western Carolina football staff during the winter of 2024, taking the role as Director of Player Personnel. He came to Cullowhee after spending the previous year on staff as the running backs coach at Tusculum University under former head coach – and current WCU defensive coordinator, Jerry Odom. Headley helped the Pioneers to the 2023 SAC Mountain Division Championship while on staff in Greeneville, Tenn.

In the spring of 2024, Headley assumed the quarterbacks coach position, while also maintaining much of his player personnel responsibilities.
 
Before Tusculum, Headley served as the offensive coordinator at Kenyon College, an NCAA Division III program in Gambier, Ohio. On staff, he helped guide the Owls to the third-best season in program history, transforming the offense into a Top 25 unit with an average of 445 yards per game while also breaking multiple school records.
 
In his first full-time position, Headley spent two seasons on staff at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Ind., from 2015 through 2017 where he coached the wide receivers and served as the program’s recruiting coordinator in addition to handling football operations. Over his two seasons, he worked closely with one of the top offensive units in NCAA Division III football, helping lead the program to a 2016 conference championship and the school’s first trip to the NCAA playoffs.
 
In mid-July 2017, Headley took over as the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va., where he helped the passing game excel. Six of his wide receivers collected all-conference honors in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) and he also mentored conference Newcomer of the Year Cole Blais.
 
Prior to Kenyon College, Headley served as the tight ends coach and director of football operations at Gardner-Webb University under former head coach Tre Lamb. He spent two years, from February 2020 until 2022, in Boiling Springs. Headley handled all football operations for the Runnin’ Bulldogs.

Originally from Erwin, Tenn., Headley is a 2013 graduate of Carson-Newman College with a degree in education. After earning his professional start as a graduate assistant at his alma mater for a season, Headley spent the 2014 season working with the Unicoi County (Tenn.) High School football program.