Gopher Football Hiring Decorated QB Guru

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New Minnesota Gophers assistant coach, Mike Shula (as QB coach of the New York Giants) — Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com, North Jersey Record via Imagn Content Services, LLC

The 2026 Minnesota Gopher football season is still six months out. But these days, college football never sleeps.

After spending the last couple months grinding for commitments on the recruiting trail, March brings spring practices to Dinkytown. Then in April, the Gophers will hold their first Spring Game open to the public since 2022.

But the one aspect of every CFB offseason that really never hits the snooze button is the coaching carousel. Even before the previous season ends, the offseason college football coaching carousel spins, picking up coaches from one school and spitting them out somewhere else.

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At Minnesota, we’ve seen some of both, since the Gophers defeated Wisconsin in the 2025 regular season finale. Unlike previous offseasons, however, the offensive and defensive coordinators remain in place.

Minnesota Gophers make very intriguing coaching hire

But the most recent Gopher football coaching hire seems extra noteworthy. According to Pete Thamel (ESPN), PJ Fleck is hiring longtime NFL offensive coordinator and former Alabama head coach, Mike Shula.

Sources: University of Minnesota plans to hire Mike Shula as senior offensive assistant, as he’ll work with the quarterbacks and offensive staff. Shula is the former head coach at Alabama who brings more than a quarter century in the NFL, including OC at three franchises. pic.twitter.com/pZIOW0N7tY
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 21, 2026

Shula will undoubtedly be a major asset in the Minnesota Gophers’ QB room, where they roster redshirt sophomore quarterback Drake Lindsey, who projects as the first Gopher QB to be drafted since 1972.

During his career, Shula is credited for helping Cam Newton, Daniel Jones, David Garrard (Jaguars) and Jay Fiedler (Dolphins) all reach the pinnacle of their NFL QB careers. He’s also coached Eli Manning, Josh Allen and Dan Marino.

When he left those respective teams, all of the QBs above struggled to maintain consistency in the NFL. Here is an excerpt from a 2020 article in The Athletic, where Vic Fangio talks about Mike’s QB coaching pedigree.

“Mike is a well-respected coach around the league, especially when it comes to developing quarterbacks,” Fangio said in a statement Tuesday. “The familiarity he has with Pat is an added bonus, but what’s most impressive is Mike’s proven track record coaching quarterbacks at many different stages of their careers. We’re fortunate to add someone with his depth of experience, coaching ability and unique perspective to our staff.”
The Athletic

Mike Shula brings all the experience to Gopher football

This is a hire that could not have been replicated with any other coach in the country. The 60-year-old veteran has mass of football coaching experience that cannot be replicated, including 30 years as an assistant in the NFL and nearly a decade at the college level, including four years as a head coach back in the mid-2000s.

Mike is the son of legendary Miami Dolphins head coach, Don Shula, has been a football coach since 1988. Before that, he was the starting quarterback at Alabama from 1984 to 1986 where he threw for 35 yards and 30 touchdowns.

With only 11 days until @AlabamaFTBL starts the 2025 season, today we remember Mike Shula, who many today never got to see play as the starting quarterback for the Crimson Tide in the mid-80s.
Being the son of an NFL legend didn’t prevent the left-hander from leading Christopher… pic.twitter.com/vL7m4FmAM3
— Michael Southern (@msouthern17) August 19, 2025

After being drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the 12th round of the 1987 NFL Draft (by his former head coach at Alabama, Ray Perkins), Shula played one season in the league (’87), before giving up his pads in exchange for a clipboard in 1988, when he became a Bucs offensive assistant, under Perkins.

From there, Mike worked his way through the NFL coaching ranks. He left Tampa for Miami in 1991 to work as a coaching assistant for his dad. In two seasons with the Dolphins, Shula helped coach an offense led by Dan Marino in his prime.

In 1993, Shula landed his first job as a position coach, when he was hired to be the Chicago Bears tight ends coach. Then in 1996, he went back to Florida, first as Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator (1996-1999), then as Miami’s QB coach (2000-2002).

Mike Shula as Alabama head coach

But in 2003, Alabama needed a new head coach and they turned to former Crimson Tide QB, Mike Shula, who lead his alma mater for four seasons, before he was fired and replaced by college coaching legend Nick Saban, before the 2007 season.

As head coach at Alabama, Shula went 26-23 and 1-1 in bowl games. Fun fact: His one postseason as a college head coach came in the 2004 Music City Bowl, a 20-16 defeat at the hands of Glen Mason and his Minnesota Gophers, led by Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney.

The two future NFL starters combined for 66 carries, 292 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown in Nashville against the Tide that day. Bama’s defense couldn’t handle the Gophers’ physicality. Minnesota QB Bryan Cupito passed just 12 times (5/12, 75 yards, 1 INT).

After leaving Alabama, Mike Shula returned to the NFL, where he worked as a QB coach and/or offensive coordinator from 2007-2021 with the Panthers, Giants, Broncos and Bills, before being hired by South Carolina in 2024.

At SC, he originally started as a senior offensive assistant (just like his is with the Minnesota Gophers), before he took over as offensive coordinator and QB coach in 2025. After one year leading an anemic Gamecocks offense, Shula was fired this offseason. And now, he’s reportedly coming to Dinkytown.

Mike Shula football coaching career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1988–1990)
Offensive assistant
Miami Dolphins (1991–1992)
Coaches’ assistant
Chicago Bears (1993–1995)
Tight ends coach
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1996–1999)
Offensive coordinator
Miami Dolphins (2000–2002)
Quarterbacks coach
Alabama (2003–2006)
Head coach
Jacksonville Jaguars (2007–2010)
Quarterbacks coach
Carolina Panthers (2011–2012)
Quarterbacks coach
Carolina Panthers (2013–2017)
Offensive coordinator
New York Giants (2018–2019)
Offensive coordinator & quarterbacks coach
Denver Broncos (2020–2021)
Quarterbacks coach
Buffalo Bills (2022–2023)
Senior offensive assistant
South Carolina (2024–2025)
Senior offensive assistant
South Carolina (2025)
Offensive coordinator & quarterbacks coach