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SAN JOSE, Calif. — The NFL had seven head coaching openings. All seven were filled by a coach with an offensive background.
The coach who led the highest scoring offense in the NFL, whose quarterback will win NFL MVP, never even got a call to interview.
Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Mike Shula seems like the typical candidate NFL teams love. He designed arguably the NFL’s most creative offense this season. The Panthers went 15-1 and scored 500 points. Cam Newton’s career took off. Shula has even been a head coach before, at the University of Alabama.
And yes, he has the bloodlines. Shula is the son of Don Shula, the NFL’s all-time leader in wins for a coach (and Don Shula is happy to see his son in the Super Bowl, according to Mike: "He's excited. He's a dad first.").
Shula never got a call to interview for a head coaching job, but that’s OK with him.
“If I have that opportunity, I’d definitely entertain it,” Shula said. “But I’m so happy with what I’m doing right now. As long as I’m around quarterbacks and/or play-calling, I don’t worry about it.
“People ask me about it and I say, hey, I’m focused on winning the next game. I didn’t want to say, ‘I’m focused on being a head coach.’”
That’s not typical for a coach who is still fairly young. Shula is just 50 years old. Most want to get on the fast track, especially while they’re hot. The fact that the Panthers were still alive in the playoffs likely hurt Shula’s chances. The tight window to interview coaches still in the playoffs sometimes ends up penalizing those assistants.
Shula is comfortable with his job, though. He talked about how he loves Charlotte, loves the players he coaches, loves working with head coach Ron Rivera and was grateful to work for the Panthers.
“That’s what makes me feel happy, getting up every day going to work,” Shula said. “You can’t put a price tag on that.”
However, if the Panthers keep winning like this, the calls will come.
Shula has done a remarkable job this season. It goes back to his bold offense, which is unlike any other in the NFL.
You won’t see any other team running the same style offense as Carolina. They feature a lot of multiple run concepts within the same play, to take advantage of Newton’s ability as a runner. Some plays will look like a power run to the running back and also a sweep to the quarterback, all in the same play. It’s your job to figure out where the ball is. It's as close to a college-style offense as you'll see in the NFL.
The NFL isn’t usually open to new ideas. Give Shula credit for running an offense that went against conventional wisdom.
“We knew It was uncharted waters, for sure,” Shula said. “So anytime you do that, you’re a little on edge.”
And it worked. The Panthers lost their top receiver, Kelvin Benjamin, before the season. Their receiving corps was derided as among the worst in the NFL. There were questions about their offensive line heading into the season. And they were, at least by the measure of points scored, the best offense in the NFL.
Shula said he recalled a conversation many years ago with Todd Monken, now the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offensive coordinator, when both were on the Jacksonville Jaguars staff. Shula said he told Monken he did not believe the offense he runs now would ever work in the NFL.
“Just talking about the nature of the running quarterbacks in college, I said ‘I don’t know how that can work in the NFL for a long period of time, because of the athletes in the NFL, how fast the decisions you have to make and how hard you get hit,’” Shula said. “But then, Cam Newton comes along.”
Give Newton a lot of credit for his role in the Panthers' creative offense. Give Shula plenty of credit too.
"We've got a quarterback that's going to run it as good as anyone in the league," tight end Greg Olsen said. "We're going to hand the ball off 20-plus times per game. I think people just aren't used to seeing an offense go that way. They're not used to seeing an offense that's all about the group."
So Shula, who one could argue was the best coordinator in the NFL this season, will spend another year as a coordinator while the seven teams that had head coaching vacancies hope their hires work out. That’s fine with him.
“I’ve been there before, I learned a lot, it was a wonderful experience at my alma mater,” Shula said, referring to the four seasons he was Alabama’s coach. ”But there’s something special about being a coordinator too.“
The Panthers won’t complain. As long as Shula is calling plays, there’s no reason Newton and the offense won’t continue to shine. For one more year at least, until Shula gets a chance to run his own NFL team.*
The coach who led the highest scoring offense in the NFL, whose quarterback will win NFL MVP, never even got a call to interview.
Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Mike Shula seems like the typical candidate NFL teams love. He designed arguably the NFL’s most creative offense this season. The Panthers went 15-1 and scored 500 points. Cam Newton’s career took off. Shula has even been a head coach before, at the University of Alabama.
And yes, he has the bloodlines. Shula is the son of Don Shula, the NFL’s all-time leader in wins for a coach (and Don Shula is happy to see his son in the Super Bowl, according to Mike: "He's excited. He's a dad first.").
Shula never got a call to interview for a head coaching job, but that’s OK with him.
“If I have that opportunity, I’d definitely entertain it,” Shula said. “But I’m so happy with what I’m doing right now. As long as I’m around quarterbacks and/or play-calling, I don’t worry about it.
“People ask me about it and I say, hey, I’m focused on winning the next game. I didn’t want to say, ‘I’m focused on being a head coach.’”
Shula is comfortable with his job, though. He talked about how he loves Charlotte, loves the players he coaches, loves working with head coach Ron Rivera and was grateful to work for the Panthers.
“That’s what makes me feel happy, getting up every day going to work,” Shula said. “You can’t put a price tag on that.”
However, if the Panthers keep winning like this, the calls will come.
Shula has done a remarkable job this season. It goes back to his bold offense, which is unlike any other in the NFL.
You won’t see any other team running the same style offense as Carolina. They feature a lot of multiple run concepts within the same play, to take advantage of Newton’s ability as a runner. Some plays will look like a power run to the running back and also a sweep to the quarterback, all in the same play. It’s your job to figure out where the ball is. It's as close to a college-style offense as you'll see in the NFL.
The NFL isn’t usually open to new ideas. Give Shula credit for running an offense that went against conventional wisdom.
“We knew It was uncharted waters, for sure,” Shula said. “So anytime you do that, you’re a little on edge.”
And it worked. The Panthers lost their top receiver, Kelvin Benjamin, before the season. Their receiving corps was derided as among the worst in the NFL. There were questions about their offensive line heading into the season. And they were, at least by the measure of points scored, the best offense in the NFL.
Shula said he recalled a conversation many years ago with Todd Monken, now the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offensive coordinator, when both were on the Jacksonville Jaguars staff. Shula said he told Monken he did not believe the offense he runs now would ever work in the NFL.
“Just talking about the nature of the running quarterbacks in college, I said ‘I don’t know how that can work in the NFL for a long period of time, because of the athletes in the NFL, how fast the decisions you have to make and how hard you get hit,’” Shula said. “But then, Cam Newton comes along.”
Give Newton a lot of credit for his role in the Panthers' creative offense. Give Shula plenty of credit too.
"We've got a quarterback that's going to run it as good as anyone in the league," tight end Greg Olsen said. "We're going to hand the ball off 20-plus times per game. I think people just aren't used to seeing an offense go that way. They're not used to seeing an offense that's all about the group."
So Shula, who one could argue was the best coordinator in the NFL this season, will spend another year as a coordinator while the seven teams that had head coaching vacancies hope their hires work out. That’s fine with him.
“I’ve been there before, I learned a lot, it was a wonderful experience at my alma mater,” Shula said, referring to the four seasons he was Alabama’s coach. ”But there’s something special about being a coordinator too.“
The Panthers won’t complain. As long as Shula is calling plays, there’s no reason Newton and the offense won’t continue to shine. For one more year at least, until Shula gets a chance to run his own NFL team.*
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab