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| Morrisville State athletics photo |
Ed Raby Jr., who spent the last eight years at SUNY Morrisville, has been named the new head coach of the St. John Fisher football program, interim athletic director Jennifer Granger and vice president for enrollment Jose Perales announced on Tuesday, Feb. 18.
Raby replaces Paul Vosburgh, who announced his retirement in November after leading the Cardinals for more than three decades. He was the second-longest active tenured head coach in Division III during the 2024 season.
“We are thrilled to welcome Ed Raby, Jr. as our new head football coach,” Perales said. “His proven leadership, dedication and passion for the game align with the values and goals of our athletic program. We believe that Ed’s vision will take our football program to new heights, building on the decades of success under recently retired head coach Paul Vosburgh. We are excited for the impact coach Raby will have, both on and off the field at Fisher.”
Raby becomes the second intercollegiate football head coach in the history of the St. John Fisher football program, which started as a club team in 1971 and transitioned to the NCAA Division III level under Vosburgh’s leadership.
“Coach Raby brings a wealth of experience in Division III football as well as the Empire 8," Granger said. "I welcome him to the Fisher Family and am confident he will lead our football program toward success.”
Raby said, “I want to thank President Gerard J. Rooney, Jose Perales and Jennifer Granger for trusting me as the leader of the program. I am really excited, humbled and proud to be the next head football coach at St. John Fisher. I think it’s one of the best jobs in Division III. I am very excited to get to work. Being at a place that wants to be great at everything it does attracted me to Fisher.
“Fisher is a place that can have one of the best football programs in the country. I am really excited to be around a high-quality institution that is very successful athletically and academically. It’s a great, unique blend.”
Raby spent four years as SUNY Morrisville’s head coach – the first two as the interim – and led the Mustangs to a pair of ECAC Bowl appearances. He joined the Morrisville staff in 2017 as defensive coordinator and safeties coach under the leadership of head coach Curt Fitzpatrick, a 2004 St. John Fisher graduate who won a Division III national title at SUNY Cortland in 2023.
Following Fitzpatrick’s departure for Cortland in February 2020, Morrisville named Raby its interim head coach. The Mustangs went 2-8 overall (1-5 Empire 8) in 2021, the first season after the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the 2020 season, before improving significantly in 2022. They finished 7-4 (3-3 Empire 8) and reached the ECAC Robert M. Scotty Whitelaw Bowl.
Morrisville had its best season under Raby in 2024, finishing 7-4 overall (5-2 Empire 8) and beating Stevenson 21-18 in the Robert M. Scotty Whitelaw Bowl. The Mustangs’ five conference wins marked the program’s most E8 victories in a single season.
The Mustangs consistently boasted stingy defenses under Raby’s direction. In 2022, the Mustangs allowed just 11 points per game, the fewest in the Empire 8, and 290.6 yards per game, the third-fewest in the conference. They ranked first in turnovers forced (14) and third in scoring defense (18 points per game) and total defense (310.7 yards per game) this past season.
As head coach of the Mustangs, Raby produced 48 All-Empire 8 selections, including eight first-teamers. Linebacker Ernesto Mitchell earned Empire 8 Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors and became the first Morrisville player to be named an All-American by D3football.com in 2022.
Raby arrived at Morrisville after three years at Allegheny, where he served as the defensive line coach for two seasons and the linebackers coach for one. He coached tight ends and defensive linemen at Alfred University in 2014.
Raby, who was a defensive lineman, played collegiately at Division III Alma for four years (2009-12). He earned his master’s degree in business administration from Alfred in 2014.