Exclusive: Coach Kory David is Ready to Compete
Image courtesy of Catholic Athletics.
By Griffin Cappiello
Kory David, the newly appointed Vincent and Ellen Sica Endowed Head Football Coach at the Catholic University of America, is a man with many accolades and accomplishments. He has won more championships than you can count. He has coached several All-Americans. The shelves of his office are lined with NFL playbooks.
His resume presents him as a larger-than-life figure, but he was humble and down-to-earth as he graciously welcomed me into his office with a smile and a firm handshake.
Coach David and I spent the better part of an hour talking about football, life, and everything in between. He shared his excitement to arrive at Catholic and reiterated his enthusiasm for the upcoming football season.
“In my first meeting with the team, I told them that I’ve never had a losing season,” he told me. “Except for one year when I was with the Eagles.”
In 2010, Coach David was awarded the Bill Walsh Minority Coaching Fellowship and worked as a Quality Control Coach for the Philadelphia Eagles organization under then-head coach Andy Reid. He recounted his experience working for an NFL team and the difficulties that the organization faced coming out of the 2011 NFL lockout. He shared stories of carrying a heavy backpack full of massive playbooks to help newly acquired free agents get up to speed with the team’s plays, gesturing to the very same playbooks he still has on a shelf in his office.
“Andy taught me how to treat people,” Coach David said. “From janitors to multimillionaire players, he knew everyone in the building.”
This attitude of leadership became a hallmark of Coach David’s throughout his football career; at every stop along his coaching journey, he finds tremendous success on the field, but coaches with whom he has previously worked cannot say enough regarding his strong character and leadership.
“If you want your players to have good character, then you have to have good character. If you want your players to be servant-leaders, then you have to be a servant-leader,” he told me, explaining that his own behavior serves as an example for his players.
He attributes this compassionate disposition to his parents and shared stories about growing up as the son of blue-collar workers on a Mohawk reservation in upstate New York. One of two current NCAA head football coaches of Native American descent, his Native heritage is very important to him.
“I experienced a lot of racism,” Coach David said. “I’ve been called things that no twelve or thirteen-year-old boy should ever hear from an adult.”
He attested that those experiences only made him stronger, and after over twenty-five years as a defensive coordinator and position coach, Coach David is stepping into the role of head coach for the first time.
Twenty-five years as a football coach without a head coaching position may seem like a long time for some, but Coach David’s career accolades speak for themselves. During his time at Muhlenberg, his team reached the Final Four of the NCAA Playoffs. While at Eastern, he had the opportunity to build a brand-new football program from the ground up. When the opportunity arose to coach at Catholic, he knew this was the right place for him.
“The fit has to go both ways,” he explained. “I had to be the right fit for the program, but the program had to be the right fit for me, too.”
Due to NCAA offseason rules, Coach David is not allowed to be on the field with the team, but that hasn’t stopped him from getting to know his players off the field and in the meeting room. At any given basketball game, you can usually find him outside his office, chatting with his players as they cheer on the Cards.
“My motto for the team is TEAM,” he said. “Trust, enthusiasm, accountability, and mental toughness.”
This attitude off the field will form how the team plays on the field, and if Coach David’s previous experience is an indication, Catholic’s football program is in good hands for the years to come.
“Everybody wants to have that winning season,” he told me when I asked him about his goals for the upcoming season.
But Coach David’s aspirations don’t stop there. From winning the Landmark Conference to making the NCAA Playoffs to going on a tournament run, his goals match his incredible resume.
Off the field, Coach David enjoys spending time with his wife, Katie, who works as the chief of staff to the general manager of the Philadelphia Eagles, as well as with their two dogs.
“My dogs are what grounds me,” he told me, explaining that at the end of a busy day, it’s refreshing to come home to dogs that are happy to see him.
Coach David brings with him a commitment to excellence and a winning culture. He radiates a positive energy that is sure to inspire student-athletes to perform their best on and off the field. He is perfectly situated to build a football program that contends for titles, not only at the conference level, but at the national level as well. We wish him the best of luck in the upcoming season and throughout his time at Catholic!
