Wayne State brings home former FCS head coach and NFL assistant to lead program

Tyrone Wheatley is coming back home to Detroit.

The former Michigan standout running back has been named the new head coach at Wayne State (D-II - MI).

Wheatley spent last season as the running backs coach for the Denver Broncos.

He previously spent two seasons as the head coach at Morgan State (FCS - MD), where he led the team to a 3-9 finish in 2019 and a 2-9 finish in 2021. Morgan State did not play a season in 2020 due to COVID.

Wheatley, who was born just outside metro Detroit in Inkster, was a standout running back at Dearborn Heights Robichaud HS (MI) before going on to play for the hometown Wolverines. He was a three-time All Big Ten selection and took home Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year honors in 1992 before going on to be the 17th pick of the 1995 NFL Draft to the Giants. He went on to spend nearly a decade in the NFL with the Giants, Dolphins and Raiders.

His coaching career began in 2007 as the head coach of his alma mater, and in 2008 he made the jump to college football at Ohio Northern (D-III).

He's spent each season since 2009 in either the Division I ranks or the NFL with stops at Eastern Michigan, Syracuse, Buffalo Bills, Michigan, and Jacksonville Jaguars before landing his first head coaching opportunity at Morgan State.

A few days ago we noted the top targets for Wayne State included Colorado Mines (D-II - MI) head coach Brandon Moore (and Moore later that day announced that he was staying put at Mines), and we also noted an FBS assistant and "former FCS head coach with deep roots in Detroit" were also among those being considered - the latter of which clearly alludes to Tyrone Wheatley.

Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.