ITTA BENA — After nearly years helping to build college football programs, Terrell Buckley is getting the chance to run one of his own.

Mississippi Valley State announced Tuesday that it has hired Buckley as its next head coach.

The Pascagoula native has been an assistant at five colleges during a 16-year coaching career that began in 2007. He was the cornerbacks coach at Mississippi State from 2016-19, and held the same position at Ole Miss in 2020 and 2021.

During his time at Mississippi State and Ole Miss, Buckley earned a reputation as one of the state’s top recruiters. He has also coached at Florida State, Akron and Louisville.

Most recently, Buckley spent one season as the head coach of the XFL’s Orlando Guardians in 2023.

“He brings a winning mindset, a deep commitment to developing our student-athletes both on and off the field, and a vision that aligns perfectly with our program’s values,” Mississippi Valley State interim athletic director George Ivory said in a statement.

Buckley played college football at Florida State, where he was a first-team All-American and won the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top cornerback in 1991.

Buckley was a first-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers in 1992. He played 14 seasons in the NFL, and was a member of the New England Patriots’ Super Bowl championship team in 2001.

He’ll try to bring that winning history to a program that hasn’t had much of it. Mississippi Valley State had a 2-21 record over the past two seasons under former coach Kendrick Wade.

Valley has not finished with a winning record since going 6-5 in 2006. It has won more than three games in a season only twice since then.

Valley ranked 114th out of 123 Football Championship Subdivision teams in total offense this season, with 284.8 yards per game. It was 113th in total defense, allowing 452.8 yards per game.

“We’re going to build a culture of accountability, hard work, and belief ­ because winning starts with the standards we set and the mindset we bring every single day,” Buckley said in a release announcing his hire.