Billy Cosh was named the third head coach in Stony Brook football’s Division I era on December 13, 2023. Cosh joined Stony Brook for his first career head coaching job after spending the 2023 season at Western Michigan as the Broncos’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
In his first season at the helm, Billy Cosh was named the AFCA FCS Coach of the Year, AFCA Regional Coach of the Year, CAA Coach of the Year, and Walter Camp FCS Coach of the Year.
At just 32 years old, Cosh — the second-youngest head coach in either the FBS or FCS — engineered a historic turnaround for Stony Brook football in his debut season. Taking over a program that went 0-10 (0-8 CAA) in 2023 and was picked to finish last in the CAA preseason poll, Cosh led the Seawolves to an 8-4 overall record (5-3 CAA). The dramatic improvement marked Stony Brook’s first winning season since 2018, its highest national ranking in six years (No. 16), and a No. 24 spot in the final regular-season Stats Perform FCS Top 25.
Under Cosh’s leadership, the Seawolves saw a major resurgence on both sides of the ball. Offensively, the team jumped from 15.2 points per game in 2023 to 29.6 in 2024. Total yardage climbed from 314.2 to 403.9 yards per game, with rushing output improving from 104.1 to 170.3 and passing yards rising from 210.1 to 223.6. Stony Brook’s touchdown total more than doubled, going from 19 in 2023 to 44 in 2024. Defensively, the Seawolves made similar strides. The unit cut opponents’ scoring from 39.2 points per game in 2023 to 24.0 in 2024, and total yards allowed dropped from 470.7 to 373.5. Stony Brook also held opponents to just 32 touchdowns, compared to 53 the year before.
Cosh’s debut season also propelled several players into the national spotlight. Running back Roland Dempster was nominated for the Walter Payton Award, becoming just the second player in program history to receive the honor. He also earned First Team All-CAA recognition and four All-American selections. On defense, Rushawn Lawrence collected First Team All-CAA honors and two All-American nods, while standout freshman Sebastian Regis was named to the Freshman All-America team. Additional postseason honors included tight end Cal Redman, kicker Enda Kirby, and cornerback Rudy Silvera, who were named Second Team All-CAA. Offensive linemen Niko Papic and AJ Roberts were selected to the CAA Third Team, while Anthony Ferrelli and Cole Bunicci earned spots on the Phil Steele CAA All-Conference squad.
With Western Michigan in 2023, Cosh guided the Broncos to top-five ranks in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in five different statistics – second in passing offense (211.2), third in total offense (365.0) and first downs (19.8), and fifth in scoring (23.7) and offensive efficiency (123.3).
Individually, WMU quarterback Hayden Wolff ranked first in the MAC in completion percentage, completing 65.5 percent of his passes. Wide receiver Kenneth Womack led the league with 6.3 receptions per game and 691 receiving yards. Freshman running back Jalen Buckley ranked third in the league with 91.2 rushing yards per game and tied for fourth with 10 rushing touchdowns.
Cosh’s offense was well-represented in the MAC’s postseason awards, taking two First Team selections and three Third Team picks, while Buckley was also garnered as the league’s Freshman of the Year and later selected to The Athletic Freshman All-America Team.
Prior to Western Michigan, Cosh spent three years as an FCS offensive coordinator, most recently with Richmond in 2022. That season, the Spiders went 9-4 and earned a trip to the second round of the FCS Playoffs, scoring 31.3 points per game, third-most in the CAA.
In the FCS ranks, Richmond finished top-25 in 10 offensive statistics, including second in completion percentage (73.2%), fifth in total first downs (314), and tied for sixth in fewest interceptions thrown (5) in 2022.
Cosh came to Richmond from VMI, where he led the Keydets to top-20 FCS ranks in scoring offense and passing efficiency as the offensive coordinator during his final two seasons. In his first season as offensive coordinator in Lexington, Va., Cosh led the Keydets’ offense to seven different top-two SoCon statistical ranks including scoring offense, passing offense and passing efficiency, as VMI took a SoCon title in 2020-21 under his Air Raid offense.
Before becoming an offensive coordinator at VMI, Cosh served as the wide receivers coach in the 2018 and 2019 seasons. He coached 1,000-yard receivers each season, and had three receivers in the top 10 of the SoCon in receiving along with four All-Conference selections among his wideouts during those two seasons.
He started his coaching career at Concord University (Md.) as an offensive graduate assistant and quarterbacks coach. Later, he served as a graduate assistant at Indiana, assisting with the passing game plan and working with quarterbacks and wide receivers, among other duties.
Cosh played five seasons of college football as a quarterback, playing at Houston (2013-14), Butler Community College (2012), James Madison (2011) and Kansas State (2010). He led Butler C.C. to the 2012 NJCCA National Championship, throwing for 2,856 yards and 25 touchdowns that season. He graduated with a degree in sociology from Houston in 2015.
A native of Gambrills, Md., Cosh is the son of long-time college football coach Chris Cosh, who recently served as defensive coordinator at Delaware (2017-19) and Hampton (2022), and most recently served as a senior analyst for Western Michigan in 2023. He and his wife Kelsey have a daughter, Charli.
