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 roles since 2022.
Shannon was the head coach for the University of Miami from 2007 to 2010. He has also worked as an assistant coach for the National Football League (NFL)'s Miami Dolphins. He coached for several college teams, including the Miami Hurricanes, Florida Gators, and UCF Knights. In 2001, he won the Frank Broyles Award as the best college assistant coach in the nation.
Shannon was born and grew up in the Liberty City area of Miami, Florida. As a player, he was a linebacker for the Miami Hurricanes from 1985 to 1988. After college, he played two seasons in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys. Both his college and professional teams were coached by Jimmy Johnson.
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Early Life and High School Football
Randy Shannon was born in Miami, Florida. He grew up in the Liberty City neighborhood.
He went to Miami Norland High School. There, he was an All-state football player as a defensive back in his senior year. He also played basketball, scoring about 19 points per game. Randy was also part of the track team.
College Football Career
Shannon earned a football scholarship to the University of Miami in Florida. He played for coach Jimmy Johnson's Miami Hurricanes football team from 1985 to 1988.
He became an outside linebacker during his first year. 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 ran back an interception 41 yards for a touchdown. He made 87 tackles that season. He helped his team win the 1987 national championship.
In his senior year, his team was second in the nation for total defense. He had a career-high 14 tackles in one game. He finished the season with 83 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, and 5 sacks. He also led the team with 8 passes defended and 3 forced fumbles. He was recognized on several All-American lists.
Randy 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 in his college career.
Professional Football Career
Randy Shannon was not as big as a typical NFL linebacker. He was picked by the Dallas Cowboys in the eleventh round of the 1989 NFL draft. This was the 280th overall pick. His former college coach, Jimmy Johnson, was now coaching the Cowboys. Johnson was rebuilding the team.
Shannon surprised many people by making the team, even though he was a late draft pick. He started his first NFL game in the third week 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 the season with 50 tackles.
The Cowboys continued to improve their team. Shannon was released before the 1990 season. He returned for a few games in September but was released again on October 1. This ended his playing career. During his time in the NFL, Coach Jimmy Johnson said Shannon taught his "bigger, faster linebackers how to play the position." Shannon played in 17 regular season games in 1989 and 1990, starting four of them.
Coaching Career Highlights
Assistant Coach Roles
In 1991, Dennis Erickson, the Miami Hurricanes head coach, hired Shannon. Randy became a graduate assistant at his old college. The next year, he became the defensive line coach. He coached defensive line and linebackers for several seasons. In 1998, Shannon joined the NFL's Miami Dolphins as a defensive assistant. He was promoted to linebackers coach in 2000.
In 2001, Larry Coker, the Miami Hurricanes head coach, hired Shannon as 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 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 always 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
Miami Hurricanes Head Coach
Shannon became the head coach of Miami on December 8, 2006. He replaced Larry Coker. Shannon reportedly signed a four-year contract. He was the sixth African-American head coach in Division I-A NCAA football at that time.
First Season (2007)
Shannon's first decision as head coach was to remove players' last names from their jerseys. He wanted to show that the team was more important than individual players. He also set strict rules for the team. This was to improve player behavior on and off the field.
The season started with a win against Marshall. The second game was a big loss to Oklahoma. Miami then won against Florida International, Duke, and Texas A&M. However, they lost several close games later in the season. A highlight was Miami's comeback win against rival Florida State. The team finished with a 5–6 record. They did not qualify for a bowl game, which was the first time in over ten years.
Second Season (2008)
Shannon's team finished the 2008 season with a 7–6 record. They lost to Cal in the Emerald Bowl. The season included losses to Florida and Florida State. They had a surprising win over Virginia Tech. The 'Canes briefly entered the Top 25 rankings. This was their first time since 2006.
After the bowl game, Shannon changed his offensive coordinator. He wanted a more traditional offense for Miami. He later hired Mark Whipple for the position.
Third Season (2009)
Shannon's Hurricanes improved in the 2009 season, finishing with a 9–4 record. They were the first college football team in nine years to play four ranked teams in a row to start the season. They did better than expected, winning three of those four games. These wins included No. 19 Florida State, No. 13 Georgia Tech, and No. 8 Oklahoma. 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.
Final Season (2010)
The Hurricanes started 2010 with high hopes, ranked 13th. After winning three of their first four games, they lost to Florida State. They finished the regular season with a 4–3 record. The team was ranked in the top-25 until the last two games.
Shannon left Miami with a good record for academics and player behavior. His teams had the third-best Academic Progress Rate in NCAA Division I FBS. During his four years at Miami, only one player was arrested. He also managed to keep his program separate from a major scandal that affected the university in 2011. He reportedly warned his players to stay away from certain people.
After the final regular season loss, the university decided to end Shannon's coaching role.
Other Coaching Roles
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 year.
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.
In January 2015, Shannon returned to Florida to coach the Florida Gators. He became the associate head coach, co-defensive coordinator, and linebackers coach. The Florida defense was ranked in the top 20 in 2015 and fifth nationally in 2016.
In December 2016, Shannon became Florida's full-time defensive coordinator. On October 29, 2017, he became Florida's interim head coach for the last four games of the season. After the season, a new head coach was hired, and Shannon was not kept on staff.
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 a short time.
In April 2021, Shannon joined the Florida State Seminoles football team as a senior defensive analyst. On December 11, 2021, he was named Co-Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers coach for Florida State.
Head Coaching Record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
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| 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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