Jerry Tolley  Jerry Russell Tolley (born November 6, 1942) is an American football coach, educator and politician. He served as the head football coach at Elon University from 1977 to 1981, compiling a record of 49–11–2. His 1980 and 1981 teams were both crowned NAIA national champions. He graduated from East Carolina University with a master's degree in education in 1966. He also received his Ph.D from University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1982. Tolley now serves as the Mayor of Elon, North Carolina.