Fisher DeBerry Fisher DeBerry ( born June 8 , 1938 ) is a former American football player and coach . He served as the head football coach at the United States Air Force Academy from 1984 to 2006 , compiling a record of 169 – 109 – 1 . DeBerry led 17 of his 23 Air Force Falcons squads to winning records and 12 captured a bowl game bid . Three times his teams won the Western Athletic Conference title , in 1985 , 1995 , and 1998 . DeBerry retired on December 15 , 2006 with the most wins and highest winning percentage ( . 608 ) in Air Force football history . He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2011 . Background . DeBerry was born in Cheraw , South Carolina in 1938 . In high school , DeBerry was a four - sport varsity letter winner , lettering five times in baseball , three times each in football and basketball and twice in track . He was also an all - state selection in baseball and football . DeBerry graduated in 1960 from Wofford College in Spartanburg , South Carolina , where he lettered in football and baseball . He was also active in the Kappa Sigma Fraternity while in college . After six years of coaching and teaching in the South Carolina high school ranks , DeBerry returned to Wofford , where he coached for two years as an assistant when Wofford won 21 consecutive games and was ranked first in the NAIA . For the next nine years , 1971 to 1979 , DeBerry was an assistant coach at Appalachian State University . While DeBerry was there , Appalachian State was ranked in the top 10 nationally in either rushing , total offense or scoring offense three times . In 1974 , the team ranked sixth nationally in pass defense when he was defensive coordinator . Air Force football . Ken Hatfield hired DeBerry in 1980 as the Air Force Academy quarterback s coach . The next year , DeBerry was promoted to offensive coordinator . By 1982 , Air Force posted an 8 - 5 record and beat Vanderbilt in the Hall of Fame Bowl while averaging 30 . 4 points per game . After the 1983 season , Hatfield left Air Force for Arkansas after the Falcons ' 10 - 2 season and Independence Bowl victory . DeBerry was promoted to head coach . During DeBerry ' s tenure as head coach , Air Force won at least eight games 11 different seasons . DeBerry ' s first team , in 1984 , was 8 – 4 and beat Virginia Tech in the 1984 Independence Bowl . The next year , the Falcons won 12 games , and were ranked as high as # 4 nationally until a 28 – 21 loss at BYU . In the final Associated Press poll , the Falcons ranked eighth . DeBerry has coached the Falcons to three conference championships , winning the Western Athletic Conference championship in 1985 , 1995 , and 1998 . The 1998 team ' s 12 – 1 record completed the first back - to - back 10 - win seasons in school history , and finished the season ranked 10th nationally . DeBerry ' s Falcons have dominated the Commander - in - Chief ' s Trophy series with arch rivals Army and Navy . Air Force has won the trophy 14 times and shared it once in DeBerry ' s 21 seasons . He is a combined 34 – 8 against the Black Knights and Midshipmen and is the winningest coach in service academy history . Since the Commander - in - Chief ' s series began in 1972 , Air Force has gone to 16 bowl games , compared to a combined 13 for Army and Navy . DeBerry has led the Academy to 12 of those bowl games and has a 6 – 6 record . Although DeBerry has been portrayed a role - model for most of his career , he came under fire for controversial racial remarks made he made in October 2005 after a 48 – 10 loss to Texas Christian University ( TCU ) . DeBerry said TCU " had a lot more Afro - American players than we did and they ran a lot faster than we did . Afro - American kids can run very well . That doesn ' t mean that Caucasian kids and other descents can ' t run , but it ' s very obvious to me that they run extremely well . " Earlier that year , DeBerry had been criticized for a banner posted in the team ' s locker room that was interpreted by some as inappropriate religious proselytizing . On December 15 , 2006 , DeBerry announced his retirement . He now splits his retirement time between South Carolina and Oklahoma , where he owns homes . Other positions and awards . DeBerry has been named WAC Coach of the Year three times in his career , and in 1985 , won the Paul " Bear " Bryant Award as NCAA college football ' s coach of the year . DeBerry has also been awarded the State Farm Coach of Distinction award in 2001 , and has been inducted into the South Carolina Sports Hall of Fame . DeBerry received an honorary doctorate of humanities from Wofford during its graduation ceremony in 2003 . In 1996 , DeBerry served as president of the American Football Coaches Association , and is currently the chairman of the AFCA ethics committee . He was honored by the Independence Bowl as a member of its Hall of Fame . In 2005 , DeBerry was honored with induction into the Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame . Personal life . DeBerry and his wife , LuAnn , are notably active in church , charity and community affairs . Coach DeBerry gives motivational speeches to religious and corporate groups , and LuAnn is a volunteer with the Ronald McDonald House and the American Cancer Society . DeBerry has strong ties to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and was inducted into the organizations ’ s Hall of Champions in 2005 . He and LuAnn have assisted fund - raising efforts for Easter Seals , the March of Dimes , the Salvation Army and the American Heart Association . DeBerry ' s son , Joe , played in the Cincinnati Reds , New York Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers baseball organizations . Fisher is a distant relative to Jim DeBerry who is Swimming Pool Executive and Christan Musician . DeBerry currently resides in Grove , Oklahoma .