Mike O'Toole begins his 14th season
at Samford coordinating the defense
and his third year as assistant head
coach. He coaches defensive backs and
directs the Samford Summer Football Camp.
O'Toole coached free safety Cortland
Finnegan, who was named All-American
three of his four years at Samford and was
drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the 2006
NFL Draft. Finnegan also was named OVC
Defensive Player of the Year in 2003.
Under O'Toole's tutelage, Finnegan and
former defensive back Robert Evans earned
I-AA All-Independent honors in 2002.
O'Toole came to Samford after two
seasons as running backs coach for the World
League of American Football's Birmingham
Fire under former Samford head coach and
current Georgia Tech head coach, Chan
Gailey. During his two-year tenure, the Fire
led the WLAF in rushing both years, and
running back Elroy Harris ranked in the top
five in the league in rushing.
O'Toole learned the game from two of
football's all-time winningest coaches,
Alabama's Paul "Bear" Bryant and Florida
State's Bobby Bowden, former Howard
College coach. He played for four seasons as
free safety under Bryant and was a member of
the 1981 team that defeated Auburn for
Bryant's record 315th win.
O'Toole began his collegiate coaching
career as a student assistant at Troy State in
1985 and earned his degree from TSU in
1987. During that time, Troy went 16-6 and
advanced to the Division II semifinals in
1986. After his playing career ended, he spent
the 1987 season as a graduate assistant under
Bowden at FSU, helping with a team that
went 11-1 and defeated Nebraska in the Fiesta
Bowl.
He returned to Troy State in 1988, where
he was the secondary coach for three seasons.
Before embarking on his college career,
O'Toole served as a volunteer assistant at his
alma mater, Pinson Valley High School in
Birmingham.
O'Toole's father, Ed, was a Samford
alumnus and former football player. O'Toole's
brother, Danny, played quarterback on Troy
State's 1984 Division II national championship
team under Gailey.
O'Toole is married to the former Lee
Ann Doss of Bradford. They have three
children: John Michael (13), and twins,
Katherine Mileah and Caleb Daniel (7).
