Billy Cosh

Title

Head Coach

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 in 2024, 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 major turnaround 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 preseason poll, Cosh led Stony Brook to an 8-4 overall record (5-3 CAA) in 2024. The improvement marked the program’s first winning season since 2018, its highest national ranking in six years at No. 16, and a No. 24 ranking in the final regular-season Stats Perform FCS Top 25.

Under Cosh’s leadership, Stony Brook saw strong growth on both sides of the ball. Offensively, the team increased from 15.2 points per game in 2023 to 29.6 in 2024. Total offense rose from 314.2 to 403.9 yards per game, with rushing improving from 104.1 to 170.3 yards per game and passing from 210.1 to 223.6 yards per game. The Seawolves more than doubled their touchdown total, going from 19 to 44. Defensively, opponents were held to 24.0 points per game compared to 39.2 the year prior, and total yards allowed dropped from 470.7 to 373.5 per game. Opponents’ touchdown total also fell from 53 to 32.

The 2025 season continued that momentum as Stony Brook finished 6-6 overall and 4-4 in CAA play. The Seawolves were especially strong at home, going 5-1 for their best home record since 2018. Several players earned postseason recognition, highlighted by First Team All-CAA selections Roland Dempster and Dyshier Clary. Anthony Ferrelli was named Second Team All-CAA, Jayce Freeman earned Third Team All-CAA honors, and Miles McGoy received All-CAA honorable mention recognition. Seven different Seawolves also earned Phil Steele honors. The Seawolves also committed the ninth fewest penalties in the FCS.

With Western Michigan in 2023, Cosh helped guide the Broncos to top-five finishes in the Mid-American Conference in multiple categories, including 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, quarterback Hayden Wolff led the MAC in completion percentage at 65.5 percent. Wide receiver Kenneth Womack paced the conference with 6.3 receptions per game and 691 receiving yards. Freshman running back Jalen Buckley ranked third in rushing at 91.2 yards per game and tied for fourth with 10 rushing touchdowns.

Cosh’s offense earned postseason recognition in the MAC, including two First Team selections and three Third Team selections, while Buckley was named the league’s Freshman of the Year and earned a spot on The Athletic Freshman All-America Team.

Prior to Western Michigan, Cosh spent three seasons as an FCS offensive coordinator, including at Richmond in 2022. That year, the Spiders went 9-4 and reached the second round of the FCS Playoffs while averaging 31.3 points per game, third in the CAA. Richmond ranked top 25 nationally in 10 offensive categories, including second in completion percentage (73.2), fifth in total first downs (314), and tied for sixth in fewest interceptions (5).

Before Richmond, Cosh served as offensive coordinator at VMI, where he helped the Keydets reach top-20 national rankings in scoring offense and passing efficiency. In his final season there, VMI ranked among the top two in the Southern Conference in seven offensive categories, including scoring offense, passing offense, and passing efficiency, while winning a SoCon title in 2020-21 with his Air Raid system.

He also coached wide receivers at VMI in 2018 and 2019, developing multiple 1,000-yard receivers and helping three finish among the top 10 in the conference in receiving, with four earning All-Conference honors.

Cosh began his coaching career at Concord University as an offensive graduate assistant and quarterbacks coach, later serving in the same role at Indiana, where he worked with the passing game and assisted quarterbacks and wide receivers.

As a player, Cosh spent five seasons at quarterback across Houston, Butler Community College, James Madison, and Kansas State. He led Butler to the 2012 NJCAA National Championship, throwing for 2,856 yards and 25 touchdowns. He graduated from Houston in 2015 with a degree in sociology.

A native of Gambrills, Maryland, Cosh is the son of longtime college coach Chris Cosh. His brother, JJ Cosh, spent seven years in the Chicago Bears front office and is now Georgia Tech’s first-ever Executive Associate Athletics Director for Player Management. He and his wife, Kelsey, have a daughter, Charli, and a son, Jordi.