[3] After his ordination, the diocese assigned Coakley as chaplain at St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Wichita from June to August 1983, and them as associate pastor at St. Mary's Parish in Derby, Kansas, from 1983 to 1985.

Coakley served as pastor of the Church of the Resurrection Parish from 1995 to 1998 before returning to Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Maryland, where he was appointed director of spiritual formation in 1998.

[3] He was consecrated on December 28, 2004, at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Salina by Archbishop James P. Keleher, with Bishops George K. Fitzsimons and Gerber serving as co-consecrators.

"[5] In August 2018, Coakley responded to Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò's letter describing a series of warnings to the Vatican regarding sexual misconduct by Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

[6] On November 18, 2013, at the USCCB General Assembly, Coakley was announced as the new chair of the board of Catholic Relief Services (CRS),[7] succeeding Bishop Gerald Kicanas.

[9] In his first months as chair, Archbishop Coakley undertook visits to Palestine[10] and the Philippines[11] to observe the agency's programs and meet with local staff and beneficiaries.

During the 2008 US presidential election, Coakley declared, "To vote for a candidate who supports an intrinsic evil, such as abortion or genocide, would require a proportionately grave moral reason for ignoring such a flaw.

"[12] Coakley later stated that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Joe Biden "misrepresented Catholic teaching on abortion" in their respective interviews on the TV program Meet the Press.

However, Coakley noted what he termed Obama's "denial of civil rights and legal protection to a whole class of persons as well, unborn human beings.

No matter how heinous a crime a person commits, they do not forfeit their human dignity bestowed upon them by God, the author of life.”[16] In August 2014, Coakley criticized the municipal government of Oklahoma City for allowing a Satanist gathering at the Civic Center Music Hall, saying,"If someone had come to them to rent the Civic Center to stage a burning of the Koran or to hold an event that was blatantly and clearly anti-Semitic, I think they might find a way to prevent it ... Not all speech is protected if there is hate speech and it is intended to ridicule another religion ...

"[17] In 2023, Coakley expressed his approval of Governor Kevin Stitt signing a bill that prohibited hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery for children under age 18 in Oklahoma.