AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AP) - Fisher DeBerry retired Friday after 23 years as Air Force's head coach, finishing with three straight losing seasons and two big controversies in his final years.
The 68-year-old DeBerry guided the Falcons to three conference championships and spent 27 years at the school, including four as an assistant coach.
"There comes a time in every man's life when you have to look at the big picture and decide what's the best thing for your family," he said in a prepared statement. "After 27 exciting and wonderful years here at the academy and a total of 44 years of coaching, I am announcing my retirement from active coaching."
DeBerry, whose 169-107-1 record made him the winningest coach in Air Force history, was 35-11 against Army and Navy and led Air Force to 14 Commander-in-Chief's trophies awarded to the winner of the annual service academy rivalry.
DeBerry has had problems off the field in recent years.
In 2005, he was criticized after a 48-10 loss to TCU when he said Air Force didn't have enough "Afro-American" players, singling them out for being able to run well. DeBerry was reprimanded by top brass at the academy and offered a public apology.
In 2004, academy officials asked him to remove a banner from the locker room that included the lines "I am a Christian first and last ... I am a member of Team Jesus Christ."
DeBerry had the third-longest tenure at one school of any active college coach, after Joe Paterno (41 years at Penn State) and Bobby Bowden (31 years at Florida State).
The 68-year-old DeBerry guided the Falcons to three conference championships and spent 27 years at the school, including four as an assistant coach.
"There comes a time in every man's life when you have to look at the big picture and decide what's the best thing for your family," he said in a prepared statement. "After 27 exciting and wonderful years here at the academy and a total of 44 years of coaching, I am announcing my retirement from active coaching."
DeBerry, whose 169-107-1 record made him the winningest coach in Air Force history, was 35-11 against Army and Navy and led Air Force to 14 Commander-in-Chief's trophies awarded to the winner of the annual service academy rivalry.
DeBerry has had problems off the field in recent years.
In 2005, he was criticized after a 48-10 loss to TCU when he said Air Force didn't have enough "Afro-American" players, singling them out for being able to run well. DeBerry was reprimanded by top brass at the academy and offered a public apology.
In 2004, academy officials asked him to remove a banner from the locker room that included the lines "I am a Christian first and last ... I am a member of Team Jesus Christ."
DeBerry had the third-longest tenure at one school of any active college coach, after Joe Paterno (41 years at Penn State) and Bobby Bowden (31 years at Florida State).
