A look into Mike Shula's coaching track record and how he's done at other places

Mike Shula has worked with some great quarterbacks and offenses in his coaching career. Now going into 2025, he’ll be tasked with the continuing development of South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers.

Shula is expected to become the program’s next offensive coordinator, GamecockCentral.com learned on Tuesday.

This wasn’t a long process to promote Shula from an offensive analyst to OC in less than a year. The news came mere days after former OC Dowell Loggains left his role to become the head coach at Appalachian State.

Shula presents a strong resume, one that makes him very worthy of this new role he’s taking on with the Gamecocks. Of course, he’s the son of Don Shula, the NFL’s all-time winningest coach. But he’s created his own path in coaching that has taken him to various stops in the pros and college.

Here’s an in-depth look at how the offenses and quarterbacks that he’s worked with have performed under him.

Tampa Bay Buccanneers — offensive coordinator

1996: Points per game: 15.6, 3rd down percentage: 39.6%, 4th down percentage: 37.5%, passing yards per game: 170.4, rushing yards per game: 99.3, total yards per game: 283.3

1997: Points per game: 19.9, 3rd down percentage: 38.7%, 4th down percentage: 35.7%, passing yards per game: 152.6, rushing yards per game: 120.9, total yards per game: 285.8

1998: Points per game: 19.6, 3rd down percentage: 40.4%, 4th down percentage: 42.9%, passing yards per game: 162.9, rushing yards per game: 134.3, total yards per game: 308.4

1999: Points per game: 18, 3rd down percentage: 35.2%, 4th down percentage: 46.7%, passing yards per game: 154.9, rushing yards per game: 111, total yards per game: 284.8

In today’s NFL, Shula’s offenses with the Buccaneers would’ve been towards the bottom of the league in scoring. But even without a high-scoring team, Tampa Bay made it to the playoffs twice with Shula calling the plays, even reaching the NFC Championship in 1999.

He had the chance to work with eventual Super Bowl-winning quarterback Trent Dilfer for all four seasons. Dilfer’s numbers never jumped off the page, but he did have some decent years under Shula. The big issue was that the Bucs never finished above 22nd in the NFL in total offense during his tenure, resulting in his firing after 1999.

Miami Dolphins — quarterbacks coach

Jay Fiedler (2000): 204-of-357 passing (57.1%), 2,402 yards, 14 TD, 14 INT, 11.8 yards per completion, 23 sacks, 267 rushing yards, 1 TD, 4.9 yards per carry

Jay Fiedler (2001): 273-of-450 passing (60.7%), 3,290, 20 TD, 19 INT, 12.1 yards per completion, 27 sacks, 321 rushing yards, 4 TD, 4.4 yards per carry

Jay Fiedler (2002): 179-of-292 passing (61.3%), 2,024 yards, 14 TD, 9 INT, 11.3 yards per completion, 13 sacks, 99 rushing yards, 3 TD, 3.5 yards per carry

Ray Lucas (2002): 92-of-160 passing (57.5%), 1,045 yards, 4 TD, 6 INT, 11.4 yards per completion, 12 sacks, 126 rushing yards, 2 TD, 3.5 yards per carry

Imagine being tasked with coaching the quarterback that follows the greatest player in franchise history in Dan Marino. Because that’s exactly what Shula had to do while working with Jay Fiedler for three seasons in Miami. They did enjoy some success together, as the Dolphins won 11 games in 2000 and 2001.

[On3 App: Get South Carolina push notifications from GamecockCentral]

Alabama — head coach

2003: Points per game: 25.5, passing yards per game: 191.6, rushing yards per game: 158.9, total yards per game: 350.5, yards per play: 5.1

2004: Points per game: 24.6, passing yards per game: 141.6, rushing yards per game: 185.1, total yards per game: 326.7, yards per play: 5.1

2005: Points per game: 21.9, passing yards per game: 216.4, rushing yards per game: 142.5, total yards per game: 358.9, yards per play: 5.3

2006: Points per game: 22.9, passing yards per game: 212.8, rushing yards per game: 123.1, total yards per game: 335.9, yards per play: 5.1

Most will remember Shula for his time in Tuscaloosa as being the coach before Nick Saban walked through the door. To be fair, Shula did see some success at Alabama, helping the Crimson Tide win 10 games in 2005. But of course, most of his time there wasn’t great. He was let go after the 2006 season, leading to Saban becoming the new head coach for 2007. 16 of his 26 wins were vacated due to multiple NCAA violations.

[GamecockCentral: Subscribe for $1 for 7 days]

Jacksonville Jaguars — quarterbacks coach

David Garrard (2007): 208-of-325 passing (64%), 2,509 yards, 18 TD, 3 INT, 12.1 yards per completion, 21 sacks, 185 rushing yards, 1 TD, 3.8 yards per carry

Quinn Gray (2007): 80-of-144 passing (55.6%), 986 yards, 10 TD, 5 INT, 12.3 yards per completion, 10 sacks, 57 rushing yards, 0 TD, 3.0 yards per carry

David Garrard (2008): 335-of-535 passing (62.6%), 3,620 yards, 15 TD, 13 INT, 10.8 yards per completion, 42 sacks, 322 rushing yards, 2 TD, 4.4 yards per carry

David Garrard (2009): 314-of-516 passing (60.9%), 3597 yards, 15 TD, 10 INT, 11.5 yards per completion, 42 sacks, 323 rushing yards, 3 TD, 4.2 yards per carry

David Garrard (2010): 236-of-366 passing (64.5%), 2,734 yards, 23 TD, 15 INT, 11.6 yards per completion, 33 sacks, 279 rushing yards, 5 TD, 4.2 yards per carry

After not having much success in his first few years with the Jaguars, Garrard eventually developed into a nice quarterback once Shula got there in 2007. Shula helped him become a full-time starter for the next four seasons while overseeing him earn a Pro Bowl invite in 2009.

Carolina Panthers — quarterbacks coach

Cam Newton (2011): 310-of-517 passing (60%), 4,051 yards, 21 TD, 17 INT, 13.1 yards per completion, 35 sacks, 706 rushing yards, 14 TD, 5.6 yards per carry

Cam Newton (2012): 280-of-485 passing (57.7%), 3,869 yards, 19 TD, 12 INT, 13.8 yards per completion, 36 sacks, 741 rushing yards, 8 TD, 5.8 yards per carry

Shula became the Panthers’ offensive coordinator in 2013 but still worked with Newton

Cam Newton (2013): 292-of-473 passing (61.7%), 3,379 yards, 24 TD, 13 INT, 11.6 yards per completion, 43 sacks, 585 rushing yards, 6 TD, 5.3 yards per carry

Cam Newton (2014): 262-of-448 passing (58.5%), 3,127 yards, 21 TD, 17 INT, 13.1 yards per completion, 35 sacks, 539 rushing yards, 5 TD, 5.2 yards per carry

Cam Newton (2015): 296-of-495 passing (59.8%), 3,837 yards, 35 TD, 10 INT, 13.0 yards per completion, 33 sacks, 636 rushing yards, 10 TD, 4.8 yards per carry

Cam Newton (2016): 270-of-510 passing (52.9%), 3,509 yards, 19 TD, 14 INT, 13.0 yards per completion, 36 sacks, 359 rushing yards, 5 TD, 4.0 yards per carry

Cam Newton (2017): 291-of-492 passing (59.1%), 3,302 yards, 22 TD, 16 INT, 11.3 yards per completion, 35 sacks, 754 rushing yards, 6 TD, 5.4 yards per carry

Prime Cam Newton was something else. After being drafted with the top overall pick out of Auburn in 2011, Newton won the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year with an insane first season. From there, the 6-foot-5, 245-pound quarterback developed into one of the bright young stars in the league and went on to win the 2015 NFL MVP award.

There have been so many comparisons between Sellers and Newton because of their size and dual-threat abilities. Sellers has already provided some Superman-like moments that harken back to what Newton was doing when he was at his best, whether it was at Auburn or with the Panthers. Considering how many Gamecock fans also root for the Panthers, they have been quick to recognize just how similarly Sellers plays like Newton.

[GamecockCentral: Subscribe for $1 for 7 days]

Carolina Panthers — offensive coordinator

2013: Points per game: 22.9, 3rd down percentage: 43.8%, 4th down percentage: 76.9%, passing yards per game: 190.2, rushing yards per game: 126.6, total yards per game: 337.8

2014: Points per game: 21.2, 3rd down percentage: 41.9%, 4th down percentage: 60%, passing yards per game: 219.4, rushing yards per game: 127.3, total yards per game: 366.5

2015: Points per game: 31.3, 3rd down percentage: 42.4%, 4th down percentage: 60%, passing yards per game: 224.3, rushing yards per game: 142.6, total yards per game: 384.7

2016: Points per game: 23.1, 3rd down percentage: 37.2%, 4th down percentage: 64.7%, passing yards per game: 230.3, rushing yards per game: 113.4, total yards per game: 361

2017: Points per game: 22.7, 3rd down percentage: 41.9%, 4th down percentage: 45.5%, passing yards per game: 192.3, rushing yards per game: 131.4, total yards per game: 338.8

Shula became the Panthers OC at a time when the team was about to go on a pretty good run. Carolina won three straight division titles in Shula’s first three years in this new role and made it to the Super Bowl in 2015. That same year, Shula was named Offensive Coordinator of the Year by Pro Football Focus. Those offenses were solid back then but especially in that magical 2015 campaign where the Panthers went 15-1. But with Newton starting to deal with his share of injuries, the team wasn’t the same after that Super Bowl loss to the Broncos. And as a result, Shula was released after the 2017 season.

[Get our free newsletter! Don’t rely on search engines and social media for your Gamecock info.]

New York Giants — offensive coordinator

2018: Points per game: 23.1, 3rd down percentage: 36.9%, 4th down percentage: 60%, passing yards per game: 252.9, rushing yards per game: 103.1, total yards per game: 378.4

2019: Points per game: 21.3, 3rd down percentage: 37.3%, 4th down percentage: 45.2%, passing yards per game: 233.2, rushing yards per game: 105.3, total yards per game: 359.7

New York Giants — quarterbacks coach

Eli Manning (2018): 380-of-576 passing (66.0%), 4,299 yards, 21 TD, 11 INT, 11.3 yards per completion, 47 sacks, 20 rushing yards, 1 TD, 1.3 yards per carry

Daniel Jones (2019): 284-of-459 passing (61.9%), 3,027 yards, 24 TD, 12 INT, 10.7 yards per completion, 38 sacks, 279 rushing yards, 2 TD, 6.2 yards per carry

Eli Manning (2019): 91-of-147 passing (61.9%), 1,042 yards, 6 TD, 5 INT, 11.5 yards per completion, 5 sacks, 7 rushing yards, 0 TD, 1.8 yards per carry

This was an interesting time to be in the Giants organization. Manning, who won two Super Bowls with New York, was in the twilight of his career. Stat wise, he wasn’t necessarily bad by any means. In fact, his numbers were fine under Shula in year one.

But as the story goes, the Giants drafted a quarterback in the first round of the NFL Draft the next year and this saw the beginning of the end for Manning. Jones played most of the 2019 season under center with Manning taking a backseat and retiring at season’s end.

Denver Broncos — quarterbacks coach

Drew Lock (2020): 254-of-443 passing (57.3%), 2,933 yards, 16 TD, 15 INT, 11.5 yards per completion, 19 sacks, 160 rushing yards, 3 TD, 3.6 yards per carry

Teddy Bridgewater (2021): 285-of-426 passing (66.9%), 3,052 yards, 18 TD, 7 INT, 10.7 yards per completion, 31 sacks, 106 rushing yards, 2 TD, 3.5 yards per carry

Drew Lock (2021): 67-of-111 passing (60.4%), 787 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, 11.7 yards per completion, 9 sacks, 53 rushing yards, 2 TD, 5.3 yards per carry

At the time, Lock was only in his second year as the Broncos’ quarterback when Shula arrived on the scene. And in fairness to Shula, Lock hasn’t amounted to much in his time in the NFL. That’s not necessarily all his fault. Again, he came into a situation where Lock had already been drafted by Denver and gone through his rookie year. The Broncos were also much more of a run-first offense with Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams in the backfield.

[GamecockCentral: Subscribe for $1 for 7 days]

Buffalo Bills — senior offensive assistant

Josh Allen (2022): 359-of-567 passing (63.3%), 4,283 yards, 35 TD, 14 INT, 11.9 yards per completion, 33 sacks, 762 rushing yards, 7 TD, 6.1 yards per carry

Josh Allen (2023): 385-of-579 passing (66.5%), 4,306 yards, 29 TD, 18 INT, 11.2 yards per completion, 24 sacks, 524 rushing yards, 15 TD, 5.2 yards per carry

Allen had some great heads on his shoulders between Bills offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, quarterbacks coach Joe Brady and Shula, who was the senior offensive assistant. And well, it’s hard to give Dorsey a ton of the credit considering he was fired in the middle of the 2023 season. Brady moved into the OC role once Dorsey was gone.

But when people think of what Shula could do with South Carolina’s offense, this is what most would like to see. Allen and Sellers play similarly in a lot of ways as big, physical quarterbacks with cannon arms and can run through defenders.

South Carolina — offensive analyst

LaNorris Sellers (2024): 172-of-265 passing (64.9%), 2,274 yards, 17 TD, 7 INT, 13.2 yards per completion, 31 sacks, 655 rushing yards, 7 TD, 4.2 yards per carry

Most recently this season, Shula has been a big part of Sellers’ development in his first year as the Gamecocks’ starting quarterback. Obviously, Loggains also plays a huge role in developing him as the offensive coordinator. But keep in mind, Shula has always been on the sideline with Sellers. Loggains was up in the press box, which makes it harder to communicate outside of using a headset.

Discuss South Carolina football on The Insiders Forum!