Wayne State had a grand vision when they brought Wayne County product and former Michigan Wolverine standout running back Tyrone Wheatley back to Detroit as the new head coach of their Division II program prior to the 2013 season.

However it was clear after three seasons that the success they had hoped for was getting further and further out of reach.

Wheatley, who led the team to an 0-11 season in his third year as head coach this past fall, announced his resignation today, conceding the program needed change.

“As head football coach, I accept full responsibility for the program and the standards that come with this role,” Wheatley shared in the school’s release.  

“After thoughtful reflection, I have decided to step down, believing this is the right decision for the student-athletes and the university.  I am sincerely grateful to our players, coaching and support staff, alumni, and supporters for their dedication and belief — it has been a privilege to serve this community.”

The move comes as Wheatley had largely cleaned house staff wise since the end of their winless season. The one coach who had remained, linebackers coach and special teams coordinator Ahmed Saleh, recently left to join the Tennessee Titans staff sources recently shared with FootballScoop.

A former NFL assistant with the Bills, Broncos and Jaguars, Wheatley had coached the running backs at Eastern Michigan, Syracuse, and his alma mater Michigan. He had one previous head coaching stint at Morgan State (FCS – MD) where he went 3-9 in 2019, followed by no season due to COVID in 2020 and then 2-9 in 2021 before returning to the NFL to coach the Broncos running backs.

In three years as Wayne State’s head coach, Wheatley went 3-8, 2-9 and then 0-11 for an overall record of 5-28.

Between the two stops, he holds an overall record as a college head coach at the Division II and FCS levels of 10-46.

Just over the course of the last several days, Wheatley had hired Terrence Isaac Sr., the head coach at Rochester Community and Technical College (JC – MN) as the new offensive coordinator for the program.

With Wheatley’s resignation in-hand, the school has announced Isaac Sr. as the new head coach of the program.

Terrance spent the last four seasons as the head coach of the Minnesota based Junior College program, and also previously led Vermilion CC (JC – MN) in 2021 after a short four-year stint as the head coach and athletic director at Green Oaks HS (Shreveport, LA).

He takes over a program that has had varying degrees of success in the ultra-competitive GLIAC with Division II powers like Ferris State and Grand Valley State, as well as Saginaw Valley State. Under longtime former head coach Paul Winters the Wayne State program appeared in the national title game back in 2011, where they lost to D-II power Pitt State.

Wayne State’s 2026 schedule includes a season opener against Northwood (a 2025 Division II playoff member), before a trip to Hillsdale College. They open week 3 with a home game against a top 25 Division III program in UW-La Crosse before a road trip to Quincy to conclude non-conference play.

GLIAC play opens with a trip to Grand Valley State week four, and they will play on the road at Davenport and at Michigan Tech while getting Roosevelt, Saginaw Valley State, Northern Michigan, and reigning Division II national champions Ferris State all at home.