48 Facts About Kerwin Bell

Kerwin Douglas Bell was born on June 15,1965 and is an American football coach and former player who has been the head coach of the Western Carolina Catamounts football team since 2021.

Kerwin Bell played professionally as a quarterback for 14 seasons in the Canadian Football League, World League of American Football, and the National Football League from the late 1980s until 2002.

Kerwin Bell then went into coaching, first at the high school level before moving to the collegiate ranks in 2007.

Kerwin Bell enrolled at the University of Florida, made their Florida Gators team as a walk-on, and was redshirted during his freshman season of 1983.

Kerwin Bell played well in his first collegiate appearance, throwing a go-ahead touchdown pass with under a minute remaining.

Kerwin Bell played at Florida for four seasons and was named to several more All-SEC and All-American lists, before graduating in 1987.

Kerwin Bell became the head coach at NCAA Division 1 Jacksonville University in 2007 and led the Dolphins to their first three conference championships during his nine seasons at the school.

Kerwin Bell moved to Valdosta State University in 2016, and in 2018, he led the Blazers to their first undefeated season and the NCAA D-II national championship on the strength of the highest scoring offense in college football.

Kerwin Bell accepted the position of offensive coordinator for the South Florida Bulls under head coach Charlie Strong in 2019 but was dismissed along with the entire staff when Strong was fired after the season.

Kerwin Bell became the head football coach at Western Carolina in 2021.

The Catamounts had not won more than three games for several seasons until Kerwin Bell led them to their first winning record in six years in 2022.

Kerwin Bell's parents were tobacco farmers, and Kerwin helped with various farming tasks throughout his youth.

Kerwin Bell attended Lafayette County High School, where he was the president of the student council and a multi-sport athlete, playing shortstop on the baseball team, leading the basketball team in scoring as a starting guard, and starting at quarterback on the football team.

Kerwin Bell was eighth on the Gators' quarterback depth chart during his freshman season of 1983 under head coach Galen Hall and was redshirted without playing in a game.

Kerwin Bell was the Gators' backup quarterback coming into the 1984 season due to his consistent performance on the practice field and the fact that several quarterbacks ahead of him on the depth chart had graduated, transferred, or were injured.

When senior starter Dale Dorminey suffered a serious knee injury four days before the Gators' first game, Kerwin Bell was suddenly thrust into the starting role.

Kerwin Bell had injured his knee a month prior and did not start the game.

Kerwin Bell was the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year in 1984, an honorable mention All-American in 1985 and 1986, a first-team All-SEC selection in 1985, and the recipient of the Gators' Fergie Ferguson Award and a team captain in 1987.

Kerwin Bell finished his four-year college career with 549 completions on 949 passing attempts, for 7,585 yards and fifty-six touchdowns.

Kerwin Bell graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1987, and was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1997.

Kerwin Bell was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the seventh round of the 1988 NFL draft.

Kerwin Bell played in two preseason games, completing 8 of 15 passes for 64 yards, but was beaten out by David Archer for the third-string quarterback job.

Kerwin Bell was picked up on waivers by the Atlanta Falcons, but did not play in their final preseason game, and was cut prior to the 1988 NFL season.

Kerwin Bell spent part of 1989 as the Buccaneers' third-string quarterback, but a serious knee injury ended his season and prevented him from playing at all in 1990.

In 1991, Kerwin Bell got a chance to start with the Orlando Thunder of the World League of American Football and threw for 2,214 yards, and was the Thunder's backup quarterback in 1992 when the team went to the World Bowl.

Kerwin Bell began a seven-year Canadian Football League career in 1993, with the Sacramento Gold Miners, part of the failed CFL expansion into the United States.

Kerwin Bell started 12 regular season games and two playoff games for the Edmonton Eskimos in 1995.

Ahead of the 1996 NFL season, Lindy Infante was appointed head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, and he contacted Kerwin Bell about joining the team as back up to Jim Harbaugh.

Kerwin Bell accepted, and went 10 of 18 for 80 yards and a touchdown during the preseason, but another knee injury ruled him out for six weeks and his place was taken by Paul Justin.

Kerwin Bell remained on the roster as the third-string quarterback, and with both Harbaugh and Justin out injured, on December 5,1996, he entered the game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Kerwin Bell attempted five passes and completed all of them, throwing for 75 yards and a touchdown on the day.

Kerwin Bell was the Colts' third-string quarterback in 1997, but did not play in a regular season game.

Kerwin Bell returned to the CFL in 1998 with the Toronto Argonauts and had his best professional year.

Kerwin Bell signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and again passed for over 4000 yards in 1999.

Kerwin Bell was injured early in 2000 and was traded back to Toronto, where he remained until retiring after the 2001 season.

Kerwin Bell played for the Argonauts more than any other team in his career, passing for 8,811 career yards in forty-six regular season games with Toronto.

Kerwin Bell first coached in 1990, when his playing career was temporarily interrupted by a serious knee injury.

Kerwin Bell returned to the University of Florida while rehabilitating to serve as a graduate assistant coach under Steve Spurrier, who was in his first season as the Gators' head ball coach.

Kerwin Bell remained in Gainesville for only one season, as he resumed his playing career in the summer of 1991 with the Orlando Thunder of the WLAF.

Kerwin Bell next coached in 2001, when he served as the co-offensive coordinator for the Toronto Argonauts during his last season as an active player.

In 2007, Kerwin Bell became the head coach of the Jacksonville Dolphins, a non-scholarship NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision football program representing Jacksonville University, a private institution in Jacksonville, Florida.

The school's administration announced that the decision was due to "philosophical differences" stemming from the fact that the school wanted to keep the non-scholarship football program as-is while Kerwin Bell had publicly advocated for growing the program into an FCS power by offering scholarships.

In January 2016, Kerwin Bell was named the new head coach of the Blazers of Valdosta State University, a scholarship football program that competes in NCAA Division II.

In 2018, Kerwin Bell led the Blazers to the program's first undefeated season and the Division II National Championship.

In January 2019, Kerwin Bell was named the offensive coordinator for the South Florida Bulls by head coach Charlie Strong, who knew Kerwin Bell from several stints as an assistant coach at the University of Florida.

Kerwin Bell was given "total control" of the Bulls' offense, which had stagnated before his arrival.

Kerwin Bell was hired as the 14th head coach at Western Carolina on April 27,2021.

Kerwin Bell married the former Cosette Odom in 1986, while they were both students at the University of Florida.