Former NFL Player, Coach.
Athletic Director.
Mentor. Author. Speaker.
From the Field to
the Front Office
The Icon Sports Group brings 30+ years of playing, coaching, and athletic administration experience directly to high school and small college programs — through hands-on professional development for coaches and athletic staff.
The Track Record
Four Decades on the Field, the Sideline, and in the Front Office
Buffalo Bills, 1985
Athletic Fundraisers
Managed
All-Conference Players Coached
Signed by the NFL
Professional Development
For The Developing Professional
Derrick Burroughs brings four decades of playing, coaching, and athletic administration experience directly to your program — hands-on professional development grounded in what actually works, day to day, for the people running your department.
Program Culture & Leadership
Building a winning culture from the ground up — the same approach used to turn a winless program into a consistent winner — covering staff standards, accountability, and athlete development.
Budget & Operations Management
Practical guidance on running a department's finances — from multi-million dollar operating budgets to lean small-college realities — grounded in real administrative experience.
Compliance & Policy Development
Establishing the policies, procedures, and academic standards that keep programs eligible, organized, and protected — grounded in direct NCAA Division II administrative experience.
Fundraising & Community Partnerships
Strategies for building the outside relationships and fundraising engines that support a program's growth — proven through more than a million dollars raised across his career.
Athletic Administration
The full scope of running a department day to day — staffing, scheduling, facilities, and reporting — drawn from years of direct experience as a Division II Athletic Director.
Diversity & Inclusion
Practical strategies for building inclusive programs and staffs — informed by Derrick's Diversity & Inclusion certification from Cornell University and years of hands-on administrative experience.
For Head Coaches & Athletic Directors · High School and Small College Programs
to Your Program
Tell us about your program and we'll follow up to discuss the right fit.
Speaking Engagements
A Story of Setback, Comeback, and Command — Told by Someone Who Lived It
From a first-round NFL draft pick to rebuilding a program from the ground up, Derrick brings a first-person account of adversity, leadership, and reinvention to conferences, banquets, and staff retreats.
The Comeback Mindset
Lessons from an NFL career and a program turnaround — on overcoming setbacks and leading through adversity.
From Athlete to Administrator
What the transition from playing to coaching to running a department actually looks like — for athletes and staff navigating their own next chapter.
Building a Winning Culture
How to turn a struggling program around — the same approach used to rebuild a winless program into a consistent winner.
About Derrick Burroughs
A native of Mobile, Alabama, Derrick Burroughs built his reputation at the University of Memphis, where he earned All-Conference honors, was named Defensive Player of the Year, and was tapped Defensive MVP of the 1985 Blue-Gray All-Star Game before playing in the Senior Bowl. That performance carried him into the first round of the 1985 NFL Draft — 14th overall to the Buffalo Bills — until a career-ending neck injury forced an early retirement from the game he loved.
He turned that setback into a new mission. Burroughs holds a degree in Criminal Justice/Criminology from Memphis, a Master's in Sports Science from the United States Sports Academy, and a Diversity & Inclusion certification from Cornell University — credentials that helped earn him induction into the University of Memphis Athletic Hall of Fame in 2024.
What followed was 28 years of coaching across the NFL, NFL Europe, USFL Arena Football, and the XFL — including five years in the NFL's minority coaching internship program with the Bills, Vikings, and Colts, plus stops at HBCUs including Jackson State, Alabama State, Clark Atlanta, Stillman College, and Knoxville College.
"Have a genuine passion for athletics — love what you do, and you'll never work a day in your life. Make sure every athlete is an ambassador for their college or university. And above all, educate and graduate — full investment in the success of student-athletes, on and off the field."
Derrick's guiding philosophy as an athletic administratorThat same drive to build something lasting extends beyond the field. Derrick has organized marquee events including the Bruce Smith Super Bowl Celebrity Gala, the Penny Hardaway USA Olympic Basketball Celebration, and the Dave Stewart Annual Christmas Toy Drive — and at Lane College, revitalized the athletic Hall of Fame into one of the program's premier fundraising events. Today, that same experience channels into The Icon Sports Group's professional development work with the next generation of coaches and athletic administrators.
The Book
Erased From History
A first-round NFL draft pick for the Buffalo Bills, Derrick's playing career was cut short by a paralyzing neck injury in a 1989 game against the Houston Oilers. But this book is about far more than football — it follows his life from childhood to today, confronting the athletic, academic, family, and personal milestones that felt overlooked or forgotten along the way, and the painful detours he took while searching for peace. It's an honest reckoning that leads, ultimately, to reconciliation — with his past, and with the people closest to him.
Get the BookAvailable now on Amazon
Get In Touch
Ready to Bring
The Icon Sports Group
to Your Program?
Tell us a bit about your school, your role, and what you're looking for — professional development, a speaking engagement, or something else entirely — and we'll follow up to talk through next steps.
Prefer email? Reach us directly — dburroughs@theiconsportsgroup.com