Randy Shannon facts for kids
Shannon in 2007
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| Personal information | |||
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| Born: | February 24, 1966 Miami, Florida, U.S. |
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| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Weight: | 221 lb (100 kg) | ||
| Career information | |||
| High school: | Miami Norland (Miami Gardens, Florida) |
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| College: | Miami (FL) (1984–1988) | ||
| NFL Draft: | 1989 / Round: 11 / Pick: 280 | ||
| Career history | |||
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| As coach: | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||
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| Head coaching record | |||
| Career: | NCAA: 29–25 (.537) | ||
| Player stats at PFR | |||
Randy Leonard Shannon (born February 24, 1966) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently a co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for Florida State University. He has held these positions since 2022. Shannon was the head coach at the University of Miami from 2007 to 2010. He has also been an assistant coach for the National Football League (NFL)'s Miami Dolphins and several college teams. This includes being the defensive coordinator for the Miami Hurricanes, the Florida Gators, and the UCF Knights. In 2001, he won the Frank Broyles Award as the best assistant coach in college football while at Miami.
Shannon was born and grew up in the Liberty City area of Miami, Florida. As a football player, he played linebacker for the Miami Hurricanes from 1985 to 1988. He then played two seasons in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys. All his playing time was under head coach Jimmy Johnson.
Contents
Early Life and Sports
Shannon was born in Miami, Florida, and spent his childhood in the Liberty City neighborhood. He attended Miami Norland High School. There, he earned special honors for playing football as a defensive back in his senior year. He was also a talented basketball player, scoring about 19 points per game. In addition, he was a member of the school's track team.
College Football Career
Shannon earned a football scholarship to attend the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. He played for head coach Jimmy Johnson's Miami Hurricanes football team from 1985 to 1988.
As a freshman, he changed his position to outside linebacker. The next year, as a backup player, he made 82 tackles. This was the fifth-highest on the team. As a junior, he became the starting strongside linebacker. He was seen as a leader on the field. In his first game, he returned an interception 41 yards for a touchdown against the University of Florida. He made 87 tackles and helped his team win the 1987 national championship.
As a senior, his team was ranked second in the nation for defense. He made a career-high 14 tackles against the University of Michigan. He finished the season with 83 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, and 8 passes defended. He was also recognized on several All-American lists.
Shannon graduated from the University of Miami in 1988. He was the first person in his family to earn a college degree. The Hurricanes won 24 of the 25 games he started during his college career.
Professional Football Career
Randy Shannon was not as big as a typical NFL linebacker. He was chosen by the Dallas Cowboys in the eleventh round of the 1989 NFL draft. This was the 280th pick overall. The Cowboys were led by his former college coach, Jimmy Johnson. Johnson was working to rebuild the Cowboys team.
Shannon surprised many by making the team, even though he was a late draft pick. He became a starter in the third game of the season. He was the first Cowboys rookie to start at outside linebacker since 1963. In his 4 starts, he made 38 tackles. He also had 14 special teams tackles, which was second on the team. He played in all three linebacker positions. He finished his first season with 50 tackles.
His time with the Cowboys ended in 1990. During his NFL career, Shannon played in 17 regular season games in 1989 and 1990. He started four of those games. Jimmy Johnson said that Shannon helped teach his "bigger, faster linebackers how to play the position."
Coaching Career Highlights
Assistant Coach Roles
In 1991, Miami Hurricanes head coach Dennis Erickson hired Shannon as a graduate assistant at his old college. The next year, he became the defensive line coach. He spent several seasons coaching defensive line and linebackers there. In 1998, Shannon joined the NFL's Miami Dolphins as a defensive assistant. He was promoted to the Dolphins' linebackers coach in 2000.
In 2001, Miami Hurricanes head coach Larry Coker hired Shannon to be the team's defensive coordinator. That year, Miami won the BCS National Championship. Shannon received the Broyles Award as the best assistant coach in college football. The Hurricanes' 2001 national championship team is often called one of the greatest college football teams ever.
Shannon stayed as the Hurricanes' defensive coordinator for six seasons. His defenses were consistently among the best in the nation:
- 2001 – 6th best defense
- 2002 – 7th best defense
- 2003 – 2nd best defense
- 2004 – 28th best defense
- 2005 – 4th best defense
- 2006 – 7th best defense
Leading the Miami Hurricanes
Shannon became the head coach of Miami on December 8, 2006. He took over from Larry Coker. He was the sixth African-American head coach in Division I-A NCAA football at that time.
2007 Season Overview
Shannon's first decision as head coach was to remove players' last names from their jerseys. This was to show that the team was more important than individual players. He also set up strict rules for the team. This was to make sure players behaved well on and off the field.
The season started with a win against Marshall. Miami then had some wins against Florida International, Duke, and Texas A&M. However, they lost several close games. A highlight was Miami's comeback win against rival Florida State. The team finished with a 5–6 record and did not play in a bowl game. This was the first time in over ten years.
2008 Season Overview
Shannon's team finished the 2008 season with a 7–6 record. They lost to Cal in the Emerald Bowl. Key games included losses to Florida and Florida State, and a surprising win over Virginia Tech. The team briefly entered the Top 25 rankings. After the bowl game, Shannon made changes to his coaching staff.
2009 Season Overview
The Hurricanes showed improvement in the 2009 season, finishing with a 9–4 record. They faced four ranked teams at the start of the season. They did better than expected, winning three of those games. This included wins over No. 19 Florida State, No. 13 Georgia Tech, and No. 8 Oklahoma. The Hurricanes then lost to No. 22 Wisconsin in the Citrus Bowl. Miami finished the season ranked No. 19 in the country. This was the second year in a row that Shannon's team improved by two wins.
2010 Season Overview
The Hurricanes started 2010 with high hopes, ranked 13th. After winning three of their first four games, they lost to No. 24 Florida State. They finished the regular season with a 4–3 record in their remaining games. The team was ranked in the top-25 for most of the season. However, a loss to South Florida at the end of the season left them unranked.
Team Success Off the Field
Even though his win-loss record at Miami was not as high as some past coaches, Shannon left an important mark. He helped the school achieve the third-best Academic Progress Rate in NCAA Division I FBS. During his four years at Miami, only one player was arrested. He was also known for keeping his team away from people who might cause problems.
Shannon's teams consistently brought in top-ranked new players. Three players from his second group of recruits were named Freshman All-Americans. After the South Florida loss, the university decided to end Shannon's time as head coach.
Other Coaching Positions
In July 2012, Shannon became the linebackers coach at TCU. His first game with TCU was a big 56–0 victory. TCU's defense was very strong that season, ranking high in several categories.
In December 2012, Shannon was hired by the Arkansas Razorbacks as a linebackers coach. He also helped with recruiting new players from south Florida. He was promoted to associate head coach before the 2014 season.
Shannon returned to Florida in January 2015. He became the Florida Gators' associate head coach, co-defensive coordinator, and linebackers coach. This was under new head coach Jim McElwain. Many believed Shannon would be a great help in recruiting for the Gators. With Shannon as co-coordinator, the Florida defense was ranked in the top 20 in 2015 and fifth nationally in 2016.
In December 2016, Shannon was promoted to be Florida's full-time defensive coordinator for the 2017 season. On October 29, 2017, he became Florida's interim head coach after Jim McElwain was no longer coaching. Shannon coached the Gators for the last four games of the year.
On December 5, 2017, Shannon was hired as the defensive coordinator for the University of Central Florida (UCF). In January 2021, he became the interim head coach for the Knights for a short time.
In April 2021, Shannon joined the Florida State Seminoles football team as a senior defensive analyst. He also helped as an assistant linebackers coach. On December 11, 2021, Shannon was named Co-Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers coach for Florida State.
Head Coaching Record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami Hurricanes (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2007–2010) | |||||||||
| 2007 | Miami | 5–7 | 2–6 | 5th (Coastal) | |||||
| 2008 | Miami | 7–6 | 4–4 | T–3rd (Coastal) | L Emerald | ||||
| 2009 | Miami | 9–4 | 5–3 | 3rd (Coastal) | L Champs Sports | 19 | 19 | ||
| 2010 | Miami | 7–5 | 5–3 | 2nd (Coastal) | Sun* | ||||
| Miami: | 28–22 | 16–16 | *Shannon was fired from Miami before bowl game. | ||||||
| Florida Gators (Southeastern Conference) (2017) | |||||||||
| 2017 | Florida | 1–3* | 0–2 | 5th (Eastern) | |||||
| Florida: | 1–3 | 0–2 | *Shannon was named Florida's interim head coach on Oct 29 | ||||||
| Total: | 29–25 | ||||||||
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