Tolley started his coaching career in 1962 at
John S. Battle High School in
Bristol, Virginia as an assistant football coach for two years and then served as an assistant baseball coach at the
University of Virginia for another year. He then joined the football coaching staff at
Ferrum Junior College for three years, in one of which they won the
National Junior College Championship. He then left to become the
defensive line coach at
Wake Forest University in 1968. He joined
Perry Moss's Marshall football staff as defensive line coach in early 1969, replacing Ken Cooper, who had resigned to coach in Florida. He was interior line coach at the time of Moss's removal from the head coaching duties. Tolley became the interim head coach of Marshall just four days before the start of fall practice for the 1969 season. He started the season with over 40 players but through attrition, the number of players dropped to just 32 after the team lost the first six games. The team was on its way to a collegiate record losing streak. Tolley was able to turn things around and managed to win three straight games against
Bowling Green (21–16),
Kent State (31–20) and
East Carolina (38–7). The final game of the 1969 season was a loss against
Ohio (38–35) with the Bobcats scoring their winning touchdown with five seconds left. During the entire season Tolley was considered the "acting" head football coach. Tolley had expressed his desire to be the permanent head coach, but the university had not appointed a permanent athletic director and would name a head coach until after the season was complete. Twenty-eight Marshall players had signed a petition and presented it to Governor
Arch Moore asking that suspended head coach
Perry Moss be named to the top spot. Newly appointed Athletic Director Charles Krautz announced Tolley's selection appointment to the permanent head coaching position on December 1, 1969. His appointment was a unanimous recommendation by a special selection committee submitted to
Donald Dedmon, executive vice president of the university, who made the final decision, in an absence of
Roland Nelson, Marshall University president who was on vacation. Tolley was killed in the Marshall football plane crash on November 14, 1970, along with members of his coaching staff and 37 of his football players. ==In media==