Mike Shula speaks: On LaNorris Sellers, Cam Newton and winding journey to South Carolina

There was no press release. No big formal announcement. No tease.

Instead, in late March, South Carolina offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains let it slip that the Gamecocks were adding a massive name to their football coaching staff.

“We brought in Mike Shula as an offensive analyst,” Loggains said, later realizing he probably spoke out of turn. “I broke this story and not Coach Beamer? Thanks. Dang.”

Indeed, out of the blue, Shula joined South Carolina’s staff during spring practice as an analyst with his title later changing to “senior offensive assistant coach.”

The 59-year-old is a part of coaching royalty. The son of the winningest head coach in NFL history, Don Shula, he has spent each of the past 36 years coaching in some capacity, holding 13 different titles for 10 different teams.

His journey is as winding as it is interesting. There was a stint where he worked under his father. At 38-years old, he became the head coach of his alma mater, Alabama, a position he held for four years until the Crimson Tide moved on from him in favor of Nick Saban. He’s been an offensive coordinator for three different NFL teams, including the 2015 Carolina Panthers, which made Super Bowl 50 behind quarterback Cam Newton.

And, now, he is back working in college football for the first time since he was fired at Alabama, spending his days at a school for which he has no affiliation and working for a coach with whom he had little previous rapport.

The State spoke with Shula about how he got to South Carolina and what he’s doing for the Gamecocks.

Some of the responses have been edited for length and clarity.

The State: Can you take me through how you ended up at South Carolina? Was there a connection?

Mike Shula: So (the Buffalo Bills) decided to move on with other coaches when Joe Brady became the (offensive) coordinator. So I was out looking for a job. Really the first connection was D-Lo (USC offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains) and I have a mutual friend (longtime NFL coach Clyde Christensen). I’ve known Dowell a little bit, but just more through coaching against each other, but we both have a really a mutual friend that’s coaching (Christensen), and so that’s how the whole thing started. Then there was an opening here and Joe D (USC special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis) and I coached together in Jacksonville. So the more I kind was looking into it and finding out about the role, the more became it became appealing.

I came down here. (South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer) was nice enough to have me come down, look around and then he offered me the job.

The State: Can you take me through a day in your life right now?

Mike Shula: It’s very similar to being like a quarterback coach. My goal for this football team, and our offense, and for Dowell, is to be an extension of Dowell to our quarterbacks. And then also helping out in any other area offensively where I’m available. That’s probably the closest way to describe it.

The State: So you’re almost acting as the quarterbacks coach?

Mike Shula: Well, I would say I’m more of an extension. Dowell’s coaching the quarterbacks and I’m kind of helping him wherever he needs help.

The State: How much are you involved with South Carolina’s practices and analyzing that versus scouting the opponent and seeing where you can help the QBs that way?

Mike Shula: It’s all encompassing. About what you would do as a quarterbacks coach.

The State: Shane mentioned part of the reason he was excited to bring you in is because you’ve worked with bigger quarterbacks like Cam Newton and Josh Allen, who have similar frames to LaNorris Sellers. How much of those conversations did you have?

Mike Shula: A little bit. LaNorris, as we all know, has a skill set to both throw the football and run the football, just like those other guys had that skill set. Now that’s probably where the comparisons end just because of the youthfulness of LaNorris. The biggest thing with him is, he just goes to go play. He’s a fast learner. From watching them in spring ball and training camp, things that are new to him — just like they would be any other freshman or redshirt freshman — he might not get it the first time, but then he retains it and learns from it and gets it the next time.

The State: With quarterbacks that big, they probably feel like they can run over anyone. But you also have to keep them healthy. What did you tell a Cam Newton or Josh Allen about running the football?

Mike Shula: There’s an art to it. I’ve learned over the years, just from watching guys, especially with Cam, is that you have to kind of pick and choose. You want LaNorris or you want Cam or you want Josh — I know Cam and LaNorris better than I knew Josh, I wasn’t around him quite as much — but you want them to be themselves and not think about playing cautiously. You want them to play freely, but you also want them to make an educated decision on your surroundings, basically.

If it’s one-on-one situation, OK. But if it’s one on two and there’s more than two eyes on you, they probably need to get down quick. But I’ve also found over the years, a lot of the times — there is wear and tear on running quarterbacks — but most injuries don’t come from when he’s out of the pocket.

The State: When you have a quarterback who’s 240 pounds, what benefits does that provide an offense?

Mike Shula: It just depends on what (the quarterback) can do. We have an offense here — it’s our job as offensive coaches to utilize all of our players’ abilities. It’s up to D-Lo how he wants to present that. And then once he decides to do that, then we’ll coach it however it wants (us) to.

The State: What is your role on gameday?

Mike Shula: Same thing like during practice, just be an extensions of what (Loggains) wants and making sure we’re getting everything communicated and guys are seeing what they really see. The cool thing this year is the video on the sidelines — the iPads. It’ll be something we did in the NFL, but we didn’t have video. We just had still shots.

The State: Where do you want this to take you? Do you want to get back to the NFL?

Mike Shula: I’ve kind of learned from — I guess it started with my dad, but probably, more so than him, other coaches throughout my career — don’t ever worry about the next job. Everything else takes care of itself. It’s good to feel wanted and I’m really happy here. Every day, I enjoy it more and more — and I’ve enjoyed it from Day One. It was obviously a change, it had been 18 years since I was in college ball. Seeing the youthfulness of the of the players, when they’re 17, 18 compared to when they’re 22, 23 is different. You get kind of the finished college product (in the NFL) compared to now. These guys are just trying to figure out what life is all about. They’re on their own, living away from their parents.

But it also brought back a lot of cool memories (of) gratification. When you see the light go on with those guys. It could be a redshirt senior and all of a sudden, it comes on. I’ve only been here a few months, but going back to my four years at Alabama. ... That was new to me. Not just mentally, but physically how these kids grow. We’d sign a kid and I’ll never forget our defensive coordinator Joe Kines would say, “Oh, coach, he’ll be about 260 (pounds) in two years,” and I’d be like, “What? There’s no way.” And, sure enough, he was right. It’s a cool feeling.

The State: It almost seems like there’s part of college football that’s more fulfilling for you — seeing that light come on for an 18-year-old. Is it?

Mike Shula: It’s different. It’s a different kind of rewarding experience. I grew up around my dad and I grew up around NFL players my whole life. And I’ve been fortunate enough to coach in the NFL a long time. But there’s a lot in the NFL that’s pretty cool, too. The main thing, regardless of NFL or college, is just when you know it means a lot to the young man and he’s doing it right. He hadn’t quite figured it out, but it’s important to him, and then when he does (figure it out), you’re really happy for him.

The State: Do do these guys know who your dad was?

Mike Shula: Um, I don’t know. I don’t ever really talk to them about it. I know at Buffalo, a lot of them didn’t, but that’s OK.