Mike Shula

Mike Shula (born June 3, 1965) is an American football coach who is the senior offensive assistant for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL).

Shula was born in Baltimore, Maryland on June 3, 1965.

He is the son of Don Shula, the NFL's all-time winningest coach, and the younger brother of Dave Shula.

Shula attended high school at Christopher Columbus High School, in Miami, 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.

Shula's football career started with the Crimson Tide, where he was the starting quarterback from 1984 to 1986.

The team's record during these three seasons was .680, with wins in the Aloha Bowl and the Sun Bowl, plus key victories over USC, Ohio State and Notre 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 rival Auburn in the 1985 Iron Bowl, and Georgia.

He enrolled at the University of Alabama, where he started at quarterback for three seasons and graduated with a degree in labor relations in 1987.

After graduating from Alabama, Shula was selected in the 12 round as the 313th overall pick of the 1987 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he saw little playing time in 1987, his only season in the NFL.

He was the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1996 to 1999, the Carolina Panthers from 2013 to 2017, and the New York Giants from 2018 to 2019.

Shula has served in assistant coaching positions in the NFL, twice with the Miami Dolphins plus stints with the Chicago Bears and the Buccaneers, where he was offensive coordinator from 1996 to 1999.

As offensive coordinator under Tony Dungy with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team enjoyed success and narrowly missed the Super Bowl after losing the NFC Championship Game against eventual Super Bowl champion St. 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.

After his firing from Tampa, Shula went on to be the quarterbacks coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2000-2002, then left to become the head coach of the University of Alabama football team.

Shula did, however, lead Alabama to its first bowl game since the 2001 season, with a berth in the 2004 Music City Bowl against the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Alabama lost the game after the third-string quarterback Spencer Pennington sailed a pass over the head of Tyrone Prothro, who was open in the back of the endzone, and failed to convert on a 4th-and-5.

He played college football as a quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide and was the school's head coach from 2003 to 2006.

Shula was hired as head coach at Alabama in May 2003 after the termination of Mike Price.

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 by NCAA sanctions, and lost Dennis Franchione to Texas A&M, and subsequently fired Mike Price due to his off-field actions.

At the time, he was the second-youngest coach in all of Division I-A football, at age 38.

He was hired on a six-year, $5.4 million contract.

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 to Arkansas and Tennessee, 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 quarterback Brodie Croyle tore his right ACL on a pass attempt, ending his season.

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 tailback Kenneth Darby were also sidelined due to injuries.

Alabama hobbled down the stretch to finish the year 6–6.

By the time of the Iron 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.

2005 – The 2005 season would see fortunes turn around for Shula and his Alabama team.

Despite a catastrophic leg injury suffered by star wide receiver Tyrone Prothro, Alabama went 10–2 with a victory in the 2006 Cotton Bowl Classic over the Mike Leach-led Texas Tech Red Raiders.

The season included blowout wins over Florida and South 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 to LSU and getting blown out by archrival Auburn on the road.