Troy, Air Force, and back to Troy Gailey stayed with Florida as a graduate assistant for two years before taking his first actual coaching job as the secondary coach for the
Troy Trojans of
Troy University (then known as Troy State University) in Troy, Alabama. After two seasons there, he spent four seasons with the
U.S. Air Force Academy, including two as
defensive coordinator under head coach
Ken Hatfield. In 1983, Gailey made his way back to Troy, taking over the head coaching duties at
Troy University. In his first season as head coach, he led the
Trojans to a 7–4 overall record. In his second season at the helm in 1984, he led his #3-ranked
Trojans to a 12–1 record en route to the
NCAA Division II national championship, defeating #1-ranked
North Dakota State, 18–17 to win the title.
Professional leagues (1984–1992, 1994–2001) Gailey moved to the NFL the next year, when the
Denver Broncos signed him as an offensive assistant and
special teams coach. The team made three
Super Bowl appearances during his six-year tenure and coached quarterbacks
John Elway and
Gary Kubiak during his lone year as quarterbacks coach in 1988. In 1991, Gailey left the NFL to become the head coach of the
Birmingham Fire of the
World League of American Football, where the team made the playoffs in both years that he was coach. After a one-year stint as head coach at
Samford University, he returned to the NFL with the
Pittsburgh Steelers. After starting off as coach for the
wide receivers, then moved up to
offensive coordinator for the
1996 and
1997 NFL seasons. The Steelers won their division all four years, and made one Super Bowl appearance. On February 13,
1998, Gailey was hired to take over a struggling
Dallas Cowboys squad (as operated by
Jerry Jones), one that had faltered under
Barry Switzer during his last season. Other candidates considered in the course of five weeks were
George Seifert,
Sherman Lewis, and
Terry Donahue, with the latter being the closest to being hired before disagreeing with Jones about contract language that opened the door for Gailey. Notably in the leadup to the season, Gailey expressed his opinion to the Cowboys to not draft
Randy Moss in the
1998 NFL draft due to perceived off-field issues. Gailey's Cowboys won the
NFC East in 1998, winning all eight games against teams in their division. This would come back to haunt them when they played the
Arizona Cardinals, who happened to squeak into the playoffs as a Wild Card team despite losing to their division rival twice. Arizona trounced Dallas 20-7 for not only the first home playoff loss for the Cowboys in six years but also their first playoff win in a half-century. The Cowboys, hindered by injuries to players such as
Michael Irvin (who suffered a career-ending injury midway through the year) went 8–8 in 1999 after starting the season 3–0, losing seven of eight games decided by a touchdown. They made the playoffs but lost to Minnesota. He was fired on January 12, 2000, three days after the season ended for Dallas with three years remaining on his contract. Gailey is the only Cowboys coach to have never missed the playoffs with his team. Gailey is also sometimes referred to by fans as "the forgotten coach" of Dallas. Jones later stated his regret at firing Gailey after two seasons. Gailey returned to the offensive coordinator role, this time with the
Miami Dolphins for the
2000 and
2001 seasons.
Georgia Tech (2002–2007) Gailey was hired by the Yellow Jackets in 2002 to replace
George O'Leary, who left to become head coach at the
University of Notre Dame (O'Leary infamously resigned at Notre Dame after only 5 days). In his first five years at Georgia Tech, he had compiled a 37–27 record. Georgia Tech went to bowl games each year under Gailey, and won two: the 2003
Humanitarian Bowl (a 52–10 win over the
University of Tulsa), and the
2004 Champs Sports Bowl (a 51–14 victory over
Syracuse University). Gailey compiled six winning seasons in six years at the helm. However, he never defeated Tech's biggest rival, the
University of Georgia, never won the ACC, never went to a BCS bowl, never won more than nine games, and never finished in the top 25. The
2006 season was his most successful at
Georgia Tech, winning the ACC Coastal Division, but losing his last three games to rival
UGA,
Wake Forest in the
ACC Championship Game, and
West Virginia in the
Gator Bowl. Gailey's name was mentioned for both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins head-coaching jobs following the 2006 season, two teams for which he was offensive coordinator. Gailey got neither job. On January 19, 2007, Gailey announced he would return to Georgia Tech. After a 7–5
2007 regular season and losing to the
Georgia Bulldogs football team for the
sixth straight year, it was announced on November 26, 2007, that Gailey had been dismissed and his $1 million/year contract bought out.
Kansas City Chiefs (2008) Gailey was hired on January 16, 2008, to become the offensive coordinator of the
Kansas City Chiefs. He inherited a Chiefs offense that ranked at the bottom of the league in almost every category the previous season. Under his coaching, the Chiefs finished with the 24th-ranked offense in the league. He was demoted after three pre-season games in 2009 and relieved of play-calling duties by head coach
Todd Haley. He spent the 2009 season out of football.
Buffalo Bills (2010–2012) Gailey was introduced as the 15th head coach of the Buffalo Bills on January 19, 2010, replacing interim head coach
Perry Fewell and becoming their fifth head coach in 10 years. The Bills went 4–12 in his first season, with the 25th-ranked offense and 24th-ranked defense in the league. The following year, Buffalo ranked 14th in offense and 26th in defense as the Bills improved slightly to finish with a 6–10 record despite starting the season with a 5–2 record. In 2012, the Bills finished 19th in offense and 22nd in defense as they once again finished 6–10. On December 31, 2012, Gailey was relieved of his duties as the Bills' head coach. He amassed a career 16–32 record in Buffalo.
New York Jets (2015–2016) Gailey was named offensive coordinator by the New York Jets on January 20, 2015, under new head coach
Todd Bowles. He was reunited with former Bills quarterback
Ryan Fitzpatrick. In his first season, the Jets finished with the 10th-ranked offense in the league. They finished 13th in the league in passing and 10th in rushing. Through Week 14 of the 2016 season, the Jets had the 24th-ranked offense in the league. Following the 2016 season in which the Jets ranked near the bottom of the league in offense and finished 5–11, Gailey retired on January 3, 2017.
Return to the Miami Dolphins On January 20, 2020, Gailey was hired by the
Miami Dolphins as their offensive coordinator under head coach
Brian Flores, also Gailey's first time in Miami in 19 years. Gailey was again reunited with former Bills and Jets quarterback
Ryan Fitzpatrick, whom Gailey served as head coach of the Bills from 2010 to 2012, and as offensive coordinator for the Jets from 2015 to 2016. On January 6, 2021, Gailey resigned from the offensive coordinator position. ==Head coaching record==