The definition of longevity on the West Chester University sideline and in the coaches’ booth on game day, Gerald Toney is in his third decade (33 years) as an assistant coach at his alma mater under three head coaches in current mentor Duke Greco, former head coach Bill Zwaan, Sr., and WCU Killinger Football Hall of Fame head coach Rick Daniels.
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A former student-athlete at West Chester University, Toney has been as much the face of the Golden Rams’ football program as anybody at the school. Counting the five years that Toney played for West Chester in the late 1980s, along with one season as a graduate assistant, Toney has had his hands on the Golden Rams' defensive unit for a long time. Toney, a senior defensive captain in the Golden Rams' secondary helping West Chester reach the NCAA Division II Tournament twice, Toney has been solely responsible for the pass defense and special teams development for the majority of his time at West Chester.
Toney served as the assistant head coach for Greco in 2024, a role he held under Zwaan, Sr. as well, while doubling as defensive backs and special teams coordinator, and it is with those two units where Toney has left his indelible mark on the program. The Trenton, N.J. Last fall, place-kicker Sean Henry became just the second kicker in school history to boot a 50-yard field goal and was a second team all-conference selection at the end of the year as a result.
Among Toney's other star pupils have been former DB Al-Hajj Shabazz and Nydair Rouse, who each spent some time in the NFL and NFL camps. Shabazz played in eight regular-season games, and one playoff game, with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2016 while Rouse spent the 2019 preseason with the Green Bay Packers. Shabazz is one of two All-America defensive backs to learn their trade under Toney's watchful eye. Jarey Elder was the other.
West Chester has ranked among the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference's top five passing defenses five of the past 10 years while sporting a pass defense efficiency rating that put the Golden Rams in the top five in the PSAC for seven straight campaigns from 2013 to 2019. Toney helped orchestrate the loop's top pass defense three times (2014, 2015, 2019) and the top pass defense efficiency rating twice (2014, 2018). In 2018, when WCU paced the conference with the lowest pass defense efficiency rating (106.5), the Golden Rams intercepted 18 passes - the most in a single season by the squad since 2013.
In 2013, Toney helped direct a group of defensive backs that tied for second in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference in interceptions. In the Super Region 1 championship game on the road at Shepherd, Safety Brandon Pepper intercepted passes on consecutive throws, returning one for a touchdown, that helped seal the fate of the Shepherd Rams and send West Chester to the national semifinals.
In 2012, Toney coached the conference’s eighth-ranked defense against the pass, while local product, John O’Donnell, returned two interceptions and one fumble for a TD, scoring three defensive touchdowns for the Golden Rams all by himself. In all, West Chester intercepted 13 passes while both O’Donnell and sophomore LB Ronell Williams led the team with three picks each. Toney was instrumental in the development of a unit that started three seniors with three more seniors second on the depth chart.
The special teams unit has not been too shabby in its own right under the direction of Toney, ranking 13th nationally in kick coverage (16.7 yards per kickoff return) while Tyler Karpinski returned a punt for a touchdown, and Brandon Monk brought back a kickoff for a TD. Monk wound up leading the league in kick returns in 2015 as well (25.5 yards per return). Toney has tutored three of the school's top five all-time leaders in kickoff returns, including former all-purpose All-American Rondell White. He also turned Brandon Monk into the most prolific kick returner in school history. Monk graduated as the program's all-time leader in average yards per kick return (27.3).
However, it has been the punt return units which have fared the best under Toney's tutelage. West Chester has led the PSAC in punt return average three times since 2002. A big reason for that was Monk once again, who ranks fifth all-time at West Chester in punt returns. D'Shaun Seals was named second team all-conference as a return man during his college career, which ended in 2024.
Toney’s stint as offensive coordinator (2008-10) was very successful as WCU consistently ranked among the best in the conference in average yards per game. West Chester averaged better than 400 yards of total offense per game in each of Toney’s three years as the OC when the Golden Rams ranked fourth, third and sixth, respectively, in total offense.
In 2008, Toney tutored PSAC offensive player of the year and first team All-America wide receiver Mike Washington, who was a finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy. The Golden Rams passing attack was considered one of the most dangerous in all of Division II and was a big reason WCU scored better than 30 points per game.
As recruiting coordinator for the Golden Rams until recently, Toney was directly responsible for attracting some of the state’s top talent to Chester County. His main focus was in-state talent, but did stretch to southern New Jersey and Delaware, bringing in some of the finest athletes the tri-state area had to offer.
A 1992 graduate of West Chester University with a degree in Health & Physical Education, Toney was a four-year letterwinner for head coach Danny Hale and a member of two NCAA Division II playoff teams at West Chester. During his senior season, he was selected All-PSAC East and All-ECAC Division II. He was the team’s captain his senior year and was inducted into the Killinger Foundation Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
