SVHS alum Cox named defensive coordinator, linebackers coach at Drake University

Former Cardinal football standout previously coached at Indiana State, Iowa and Central Michigan

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STILLMAN VALLEY — Former Stillman Valley High School football standout Adam Cox has been named the next defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Drake University. Cox will join the staff of new head football coach Joe Woodley, who takes over for the Bulldogs after leading Grand View University in Des Moines to an NAIA National Championship in 2024.

Cox will assume the defensive coordinator role at Drake after serving as Indiana State’s safeties coach during the 2024 season. The former SVHS Cardinal was previously a graduate assistant at Iowa, where he played fullback and was a key special teams contributor. Cox, who lettered in 2013 and 2015 as a Hawkeye player, worked with the Iowa football program as a defensive assistant before becoming the safeties coach at Indiana State in the summer of 2024.

Cox’s previous coaching experience also includes a three-year stint at Central Michigan, where he served as a graduate assistant before joining the Iowa staff. Cox worked with the secondary and special teams units in 2018 and 2019 before coaching the linebackers in 2020. Cox, who was a fullback and linebacker on Stillman Valley’s 2009 IHSA state championship team, walked on with the Iowa football program before being put on scholarship prior to the 2014 season.

Cox played in 13 games with three starts during the 2013 season. After missing the 2014 season due to injury, Cox returned and played in 14 games during the 2015 season, when the Hawkeyes went 12-2 overall, won the Big Ten Conference title and played in the Rose Bowl. Cox played five seasons at Iowa, starting his career in 2011 and ending his career in 2015.