Howard Cornelius Gentry Sr. (April 15, 1921 – February 14, 1995) was an American college football coach. He was the 12th head football coach at Tennessee A&I State College—now known as Tennessee State University—in Nashville, Tennessee, serving for six seasons, from 1955 until 1960, and compiling a record of 42–10–1. Gentry was also the athletic director at Tennessee State from 1961 to 1976.
Gentry played college football as a tackle at Florida A&M University under head coaches William M. Bell and Jake Gaither. In 1943, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in health and physical education. Gentry then served as a second lieutenant in the United States Army during World War II. After the war, he completed a master's degree at the Ohio State University.
His coaching career began at North Carolina A&T University under Bell and was then an assistant coach at Wilberforce State College—now known as Central State University—in Wilberforce, Ohio under head coach Gaston F. Lewis. Gentry moved to Tennessee A&I in 1949 to become an assistant football coach under Henry Kean.
Head coaching record
Gentry died in 1995 at the age of 73 and was buried at Nashville National Cemetery.
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