Dolphins express interest in Don Shula’s grandson, who gets promotion with Rams for DC job
The Dolphins were reportedly set to interview Los Angeles Rams assistant coach Chris Shula, the grandson of legendary coach Don Shula, for their defensive coordinator opening, NFL Network reported Thursday morning.
But Chris, who just completed his seventh season with the Rams, is being promoted to defensive coordinator in Los Angeles, NFL Network later reported. He held the title of linebackers coach and pass rush coordinator this past season.
Don Shula, the winningest coach in NFL history with 347 regular-season and postseason victories, coached in the NFL for 33 years and led the Dolphins for 26 seasons. He died on May 4, 2020.
Chris’ father, Dave, is the wide receivers coach at Dartmouth. Dave was the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals from 1992 to 1996 and coached in the NFL for more than a decade, including with the Dolphins as an assistant from 1982 to 1988.
Chris’ uncle, Mike, is a senior offensive assistant for the Buffalo Bills.
Chris, 37, starred at Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas before heading to Miami University in Ohio, where his mind first opened to coaching.
“A lot of people would say it to me,” Chris told the Miami Herald in 2022. “I was the middle linebacker. I made all the calls on defense. I kind of always was the one doing the extra stuff ... I really appreciated playing different positions on the defense and knowing all the defense and just loved the game. I kind of always knew I’d be a part of it, someway, somehow, if I could have my way in the future.”
Chris met Rams head coach Sean McVay at Miami University and later joined his staff in 2017 as an assistant linebackers coach. In 2019, he coached outside linebackers for two seasons and then was named linebackers coach in 2021. In 2022, his title was changed to pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach before being moved to linebackers coach and pass rush coordinator for the 2023 season.
Shula was an assistant under Brandon Staley when he was the Rams defensive coordinator in the 2020 season. The Dolphins have also interviewed Staley for the defensive coordinator opening.
“[Chris] is a phenomenal coach,” McVay said in 2022. “He truly sees the game through an all-22 perspective, knowing the defense but also the offensive side of the ball, how are teams trying to really attack the different coverage contours, front structures in the run game. I’ve been just so grateful to work side by side with Chris since we got here.
“I lean heavily on him. He’s a really great coach. He’s been an instrumental part of our defensive success with [former defensive coordinator] Raheem Morris and so many other great coaches we have on the defensive side of the ball. I think what we’ve seen from the inside linebackers is a great reflection of him and also those guys delivering. [He] certainly is in a long line of great Shula coaches [and] another one we can add to the list. It’s a special family.”
Before joining the NFL ranks, Chris spent one season as a compliance assistant at the University of Oklahoma after graduating from college. And then after one season as a graduate assistant with Ball State, he joined the coaching staff as an assistant linebackers coach in 2010. He bounced from a grad assistant job with Indiana to being defensive coordinator at John Caroll in 2014 (Don Shula’s alma mater) before entering the NFL, where he started as a defensive quality control coach for the then-San Diego Chargers in 2015 and 2016.
Chris is the eighth name to public surface for the Dolphins’ defensive coordinator job since Miami mutually parted ways with Vic Fangio last week.
The Dolphins have also expressed interest in the following: linebackers coach Anthony Campanile, outside linebackers coach Ryan Slowik, former Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, Baltimore Ravens assistant head coach/defensive line coach Anthony Weaver and Houston Texans linebackers coach Chris Kiffin.
Miami reportedly requested an interview with Bills assistant Bobby Babich but he is no longer under consideration after being promoted to defensive coordinator in Buffalo.
This story was originally published February 1, 2024 at 10:03 AM.
