| South Carolina Gamecocks | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Offensive coordinator |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | (1965-06-03)June 3, 1965 (age 59) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight: | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Christopher Columbus(Miami, Florida) |
| College: | Alabama |
| NFL draft: | 1987: 12th round, 313th pick |
| Career history | |
As a player: | |
As a coach: | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Head coaching record | |
| Career: | NCAA: 10–23 (.303) |
| Coaching profile atPro Football Reference | |
Mike Shula (born June 3, 1965) is anAmerican football coach who is theoffensive coordinator for theSouth Carolina Gamecocks. He playedcollege football as aquarterback for theAlabama Crimson Tide and was the school's head coach from 2003 to 2006. He was theoffensive coordinator for theTampa Bay Buccaneers from 1996 to 1999, theCarolina Panthers from 2013 to 2017, and theNew York Giants from 2018 to 2019.
Shula was born inBaltimore, Maryland on June 3, 1965. He is the son ofDon Shula, the NFL's all-time winningest coach, and the younger brother ofDave Shula. Shula attended high school atChristopher Columbus High School, inMiami, Florida, where he won all-state honors and led his team to the state championship game in December 1982, where they lost to a powerful Pensacola Woodham High team that finished ranked No 2 in the Nation. He enrolled at theUniversity of Alabama, where he started atquarterback for three seasons and graduated with a degree inlabor relations in 1989.
Shula's football career started with theCrimson Tide, where he was the starting quarterback from1984 to1986. The team's record during these three seasons was24–11–1 (.681), with wins in theAloha Bowl and theSun Bowl, plus key victories overUSC,Ohio State andNotre Dame. Despite a lack of overwhelming athletic ability or a particularly strong arm, Shula was known for his gutsy performances in big games. He engineered last-minute comebacks against rivalAuburn in the 1985Iron Bowl, andGeorgia.
| Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 201 lb (91 kg) | 5.13 s | 1.78 s | 2.95 s | 4.49 s | 26.5 in (0.67 m) | 8 ft 3 in (2.51 m) | 2 reps | ||||
| All values from NFL Combine[1] | ||||||||||||
After graduating from Alabama, Shula was selected in the 12 round as the 313st overall pick of the1987 NFL draft by theTampa Bay Buccaneers, but he saw little playing time in 1987, his only season in the NFL.[2]
Shula has served in assistant coaching positions in the NFL, twice with theMiami Dolphins[3] plus stints with theChicago Bears and the Buccaneers, where he wasoffensive coordinator from 1996 to 1999. As offensive coordinator underTony Dungy with theTampa Bay Buccaneers, the team enjoyed success and narrowly missed theSuper Bowl after losing the NFC Championship Game against eventual Super Bowl championSt. Louis Rams. Following that 1999 NFC Championship Game, he was fired as offensive coordinator after the Bucs finished no higher than 22nd in total offense during his tenure.[4] After his firing from Tampa, Shula went on to be the quarterbacks coach of theMiami Dolphins from 2000 to 2002, then left to become the head coach of the University of Alabama football team.
Shula was hired as head coach atAlabama in May 2003 after the termination ofMike Price.[5][6] At the time of his arrival, the program was in great turmoil despite a 10–3 record the previous year. In that year, the program had been hammered byNCAA sanctions, and lostDennis Franchione toTexas A&M,[7] and subsequently firedMike Price due to his off-field actions.[6] At the time, he was the second-youngest coach in all ofDivision I-A football, at age 38. He was hired on a six-year, $5.4 million contract.[5]
2003 – With the loss of several players from the 2002 team, and an offense that was not fully installed due to time constraints, Alabama suffered through a 4–9 season in 2003. The season was marked by close losses and fourth quarter collapses. In games decided by one score or less, Alabama was 0–6 on the season. Alabama lost overtime games toArkansas andTennessee, and generally seemed to be close but not close enough to breaking through virtually all season.
2004 – The 2004 season got off to a quick start with Alabama quickly moving to 3–0 with blowout wins over Middle Tennessee, Mississippi, and Western Carolina. However, against Western Carolina, star quarterbackBrodie Croyle tore his rightACL on a pass attempt, ending his season.[8] The injury effectively marked the beginning of the end for the 2004 season. The offense sputtered the rest of the way while suffering even more injuries to several other key players. Starting tailback Ray Hudson suffered a season ending knee injury three weeks later against Kentucky, and starting fullback Tim Castille also suffered a season ending knee injury the following week in the fourth quarter against Tennessee. Backup quarterback Marc Guillon and backup tailbackKenneth Darby were also sidelined due to injuries. Alabama hobbled down the stretch to finish the year 6–6. By the time of theIron Bowl, the Crimson Tide had a third-string quarterback, with a fourth-string tailback, two true freshman wide receivers, and a true freshman tight end. The season was, like the year before, marred by close losses. Shula did, however, lead Alabama to its first bowl game since the 2001 season, with a berth in the2004 Music City Bowl against theMinnesota Golden Gophers. Alabama lost the game after the third-string quarterback Spencer Pennington sailed a pass over the head ofTyrone Prothro, who was open in the back of the endzone, and failed to convert on a 4th-and-5.[9]
2005 – The 2005 season would see fortunes turn around for Shula and his Alabama team. Despite a catastrophic leg injury suffered by starwide receiverTyrone Prothro, Alabama went 10–2 with a victory in the2006 Cotton Bowl Classic over theMike Leach-ledTexas Tech Red Raiders. The season included blowout wins overFlorida andSouth Carolina, and also included a 6–3 win in a defensive classic over rival Tennessee. Alabama was ranked third in the nation and in the National Championship chase before losing at home in overtime toLSU and getting blown out by archrival Auburn on the road. The relative success gave Shula his first 10–win season in just his third year as head coach and also extended Alabama's lead in respect to having the most 10–win seasons of any program in the nation. Furthermore, the Cotton Bowl Classic appearance and victory extended Alabama's lead in playing in, and winning, more bowl games than any other major school. The Tide finished the season ranked eighth in the nation.
Following the season, the university gave Shula a contract extension—6 years, $1.8 million per year.[10]
2006 – Although few expected Alabama to win 10 games again in 2006, expectations generally still called for a solid eight or nine win season. The Tide jumped out of the gate playing well, moving to 3–0 on the heels of clutch kicking and the solid quarterback play ofJohn Parker Wilson. The team suffered two consecutive losses to the Arkansas Razorbacks and, the eventual national champion, Florida Gators. The Tide struggled the rest of the year, as the offense could not consistently move the ball once inside the red zone, and the defense played below previous standards. The Tide lost to long time rival Tennessee after leading for over fifty minutes. Alabama ended the season by losing their final three games toMississippi State at home, LSU, and their fifth consecutive Iron Bowl loss to in state rival Auburn, ending with a 6–6 record. On November 26, one week after the Iron Bowl loss, Alabama athletic directorMal Moore notified Mike Shula that he would not be retained as the University of Alabama's head football coach for the 2007 season.[11] The University of Alabama had to pay Shula $4 million left on his contract after they fired him.
On January 16, 2007, theMiami Herald reported that Shula was a candidate to become the next head coach of the Miami Dolphins. At that point he'd already had two interviews for the job.[12][13] If the job had gone to Shula, he would have obtained the jobNick Saban—the coach who took over at Alabama—had vacated. However, on January 19, 2007, the Miami Dolphins announced thatCam Cameron, thenoffensive coordinator of theSan Diego Chargers, had been appointed to the job.
On January 25, 2007, theJacksonville Jaguars named Shula their quarterbacks coach.[14] He oversaw quarterbackDavid Garrard’s development from becoming a full-time starter in 2007 to making the Pro Bowl in 2009. In Shula's first year with the Jaguars, Garrard ranked third in the NFL with a 102.2 passer rating – an almost 23-point improvement from the previous season – threw an NFL-low three interceptions and established a team record with a 64.0 completion percentage.
On January 21, 2011, theCarolina Panthers named Shula as their quarterbacks coach. In 2011, he helped quarterbackCam Newton earn Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year after turning in one of the most prolific rookie seasons in NFL history, passing for 4,051 yards and accounting for 35 total touchdowns. In 2012, under Shula's tutelage, Newton improved on his Rookie-of-the-Year quarterback rating from 2011 with an 86.2 mark while rushing for more than 700 yards for a second straight season. Newton's 7,920 passing yards in the 2011/12 seasons surpassed the previous mark for a player's first two seasons held by Peyton Manning.
On January 18, 2013, the Panthers named Shula their offensive coordinator[15] replacingRob Chudzinski, who had been hired as theCleveland Browns' head coach. Shula was named Offensive Coordinator of the Year byPro Football Focus during the 2015 NFL season.[16]
In the 2015 season, Newton won theNFL MVP award, and the Panthers reachedSuper Bowl 50 on February 7, 2016. The Panthers fell to theDenver Broncos by a score of 24–10.[17]
On January 9, 2018, following the Panthers' wild-card playoff loss to theNew Orleans Saints, he was released by the Panthers.[18]
On February 13, 2018, Shula was hired by the New York Giants as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator.[19]
On January 28, 2020, Shula was hired by the Denver Broncos as quarterbacks coach and working again with offensive coordinatorPat Shurmur.[20]
On March 15, 2022, Shula was hired by Buffalo Bills as Senior Offensive Assistant.[21]
On March 6, 2024, Shula was not retained by the Buffalo Bills.[22]
On March 20, 2024, Shula was hired by South Carolina Gamecocks as Offensive Analyst, and promoted in December 17, 2024 to Offensive Coordinator following Appalachian State's hiring of Dowell Loggains as head coach. Shula was responsible for developing quarterback Lanorris Sellers.[23]
Shula isCatholic and married to Shari Shula.[24]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama Crimson Tide(Southeastern Conference)(2003–2006) | |||||||||
| 2003 | Alabama | 4–9 | 2–6 | 5th(Western) | |||||
| 2004 | Alabama | 6–6 | 3–5 | 3rd(Western) | LMusic City | ||||
| 2005 | Alabama | 0–2* (10–2)‡ | 0–2* (6–2)‡ | 3rd(Western) | WCotton | 8 | 8 | ||
| 2006 | Alabama | 0–6* (6–6) ‡ | 0–6* (2–6) ‡ | 4th(Western) | Independence | ||||
| Alabama: | 10–23* (26–23) ‡ | 5–19* (13–19) ‡ | *Independence Bowl coached byJoe Kines | ||||||
| Total: | 10–23* (26–23) ‡ | ||||||||
| |||||||||
He has spent 15 years as an NFL assistant, most recently in 2000-02 as Miami's quarterbacks coach.