Exploring Air Force Coach Troy Calhoun’s Days as College Football Player

For a generation of Air Force Falcons, Troy Calhoun is the face of the football program.

He’s been the head coach of the Falcons since 2007, taking over for the legendary Fisher DeBerry. He boasts a 135-89 record, with a pair of division titles in the Mountain West Conference and an 8-5 record in 13 bowl games in 18 seasons.

But, before he led the Air Force football program as its head coach, he led the Air Force football program as its quarterback.

Troy Calhoun’s Air Force Playing Days

ESPN recently revealed a ranking of all FBS coaches based on their time as players in college football. Calhoun made the list as a “Group of 5 Star,” along with Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck, Ole Miss’ Lake Kiffin, Kennesaw State’s Jerry Mack, San Jose State’s Ken Niumatalolo (who previously coached at Navy) and Ohio’s Brian Smith.

Calhoun joined the Air Force Academy in 1985 and earned a varsity letter as a freshman, one of only two do accomplish that feat on DeBerry’s team that season.

That 1985 team was one of the best in program history. The Falcons went 12-1, with its only loss coming to BYU. The Falcons won the Bluebonnet Bowl and were ranked No. 5 in the final coaches’ poll and No. 8 in the final Associated Press poll.

In 1986, Calhoun emerged as the Falcons’ starting quarterback. With him at the controls, Air Force went 6-5, 5-2 in the Western Athletic Conference.

Calhoun remained with the program for two more seasons.

After his playing career ended, he remained at Air Force as a graduate assistant and as an assistant coach until his service was completed. From there, he embarked on more than a decade as an assistant coach with Ohio and Wake Forest, along with the NFL’s Denver Broncos and the Houston Texans.

With Ohio, Wake Forest and the Texans he was an offensive coordinator at a quarterbacks coach.

When DeBerry decided to retire after the 2006 season, the Falcons turned to Calhoun to take over the program. In his first season he won nine games and was named the Mountain West coach of the year.

While leading the Falcons, he’s had four double-digit victory seasons, including an 11-2 season in 2019, which led to Air Force’s only season in which it finished in the final AP Top 25 under Calhoun at No. 22.