After serving as an assistant coach for three years at his alma mater, Felker served in several assistant coach capacities in the
South, including
Texas Tech University,
Memphis State University, and the
University of Alabama. After almost 10 years away from Starkville, Felker was called home to lead his alma mater, which was coming off four straight losing seasons. At 33, Felker was the youngest coach in the country. Felker started the 1986 season with a bang. By late October, the Bulldogs were 6–1, and needed only one more win to secure a bowl appearance. However, they suffered four consecutive blowout losses to
Auburn,
Alabama,
LSU and
Ole Miss, during which they scored a total of nine points. This left the Bulldogs at 6–5. Still, Felker was the first Mississippi State coach in 30 years to start his career with a winning record. However, the rough end to 1986 proved to be a harbinger for the remainder of Felker's tenure. He suffered four losing seasons (4–7, 1–10, 5–6, 5–6) between 1987 and 1990, and only won a total of five games in
Southeastern Conference play. The 1988 season is the second-worst on-field record in modern Bulldogs history. He was fired at the end of the 1990 season and replaced by
Jackie Sherrill. Since leaving his position as head coach, Felker has enjoyed a successful tenure as an assistant coach. After coaching at the
University of Tulsa, and the
University of Arkansas, Felker returned home at the request of Sherrill and remained a staple of the Mississippi State staff under
Sylvester Croom and
Dan Mullen. In 2017, Felker retired. ==Head coaching record==