Lindsay France/University Photography

David Archer '05, the newly minted Roger J. Weiss '61 Head Coach of Football, speaks at a press conference in Schoellkopf Memorial Hall's Hall of Fame Room Jan. 4.

David Archer '05, a former football captain as a player and architect of the Big Red's recent recruiting success, has been named the Roger J. Weiss '61 Head Coach of Football. Andy Noel, the Meakem*Smith Director of Athletics and Physical Education, made the announcement at a Jan. 4 press conference. Archer is the 27th head coach in school history.

"I am incredibly honored to be named the Roger J. Weiss '61 Head Coach of Football at Cornell University," Archer said. "Cornell is such a special place that changed my life. I can think of no better job in the country than being Cornell's head football coach. ... I am just as excited to serve our outstanding alumni, players and supporters. Go Big Red!"

Archer, at 30 years and two months old, becomes the youngest Division I head football coach in the country. He completed six seasons as a Cornell assistant coach and four years as recruiting coordinator. He has been a key component in the Big Red's turnaround.

Record-setting All-America quarterback Jeff Mathews, the program's first Ivy League Rookie of the Year since 1989 and first Player of the Year since 1996, was among the first recruits Archer's plan yielded. National rookie of the year candidate Luke Hagy was another.

"Many will consider David's meteoric rise to this level of responsibility as unconventional," Noel said. "However, to those who have worked with David or have had a window into his leadership acumen will not be surprised in the least. He will lead a charge that will profoundly impact Big Red football into the future."

A 2005 Cornell graduate with a degree in economics who grew up in nearby Endicott, N.Y., Archer was a tri-captain for the Big Red in 2004 under Jim Knowles. A three-year starter on the same offensive line that produced New York Giant Kevin Boothe, he moved from tackle to guard to center during his senior year. He won the team's Enzo Montemurro Award for spirit and leadership as well as the inaugural Jaime McManamon Award, given to a senior for hard work and diligence in the strength and conditioning program. Archer earned three varsity letters.

Said Vice President for Student and Academic Services Susan Murphy: "From his days as a player and as a coach, he knows, perhaps better than anyone, what it takes to succeed at Cornell on the field and in the classroom. He has demonstrated tremendous success as a recruiter for the Big Red because he has a passion for his alma mater that is infectious and contagious. I look forward to the coaching team he will assemble to join him as they work with our very special student-athletes to bring Cornell its first outright Ivy title."

Following his graduation from Cornell, Archer taught eighth and fourth grades in Newark, N.J., with Teach For America 2005-06 and was an assistant coach at Fairleigh Dickinson University in 2006.