Mike Mularkey

Mike Mularkey

File:Mike Mularkey 2012.jpg
Mularkey in 2012
Personal information
Date of birth	(1961-11-19) November 19, 1961
Place of birth	Miami, Florida
Alma mater	University of Florida
Head coaching record
Regular season	16–32 (.333)
Postseason	0–0 (—)
Career record	16–32 (.333)
Stats
Coaching stats	Pro Football Reference
Team(s) as a player
1983–1988 1989–1991	Minnesota Vikings Pittsburgh Steelers
Team(s) as a coach/administrator
1994–1995 1996–2000 2001–2003 2004–2005 2006 2007 2008–2011 2012	Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Tight ends) Pittsburgh Steelers (Tight ends) Pittsburgh Steelers (Offensive coordinator) Buffalo Bills (Head coach) Miami Dolphins (Offensive coordinator) Miami Dolphins (Tight ends) Atlanta Falcons (Offensive coordinator) Jacksonville Jaguars (Head Coach)

Michael Rene Mularkey (born November 19, 1961) is an American professional football coach. He played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played 9 seasons in the NFL as a tight end for the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He has served as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills, the offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons and the tight ends coach for the Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL.

Early years

Mularkey was born in Miami, Florida. He attended Northeast High School in Oakland Park, Florida, and played quarterback for the Northeast Hurricanes high school football team.

College career

Mularkey attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played tight end for coach Charley Pell's Florida Gators football team from 1980 to 1982.

Professional career

In 1983, Mularkey was a ninth-round draft pick for the San Francisco 49ers, but was cut before appearing in game. He went on to play with the Minnesota Vikings until the conclusion of the 1988 season. In 1989, he signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a free agent for the final three years of his playing career. In his nine NFL seasons, Mularkey played in 114 regular season games, started forty-six of them, and caught 102 passes for 1,222 yards and nine touchdowns.

Career statistics

			Receiving
Year	Team	G	Rec	Yards	Y/R	TD
1983	Minnesota Vikings	3	0	0	0	0
1984	Minnesota Vikings	16	14	134	9.6	2
1985	Minnesota Vikings	15	13	196	15.1	1
1986	Minnesota Vikings	16	11	89	8.1	2
1987	Minnesota Vikings	9	1	6	6.0	0
1988	Minnesota Vikings	16	3	39	13.0	0
1989	Pittsburgh Steelers	14	22	326	14.8	1
1990	Pittsburgh Steelers	16	32	365	11.4	3
1991	Pittsburgh Steelers	9	6	67	11.2	0

Coaching career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Mularkey started his coaching career in 1994 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a Quality Control coach for both the offense and defense. In 1995 he was promoted to Tight End Coach and held the position for one season.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Mularkey was hired as the Pittsburgh Steelers tight ends coach in 1996 and held the position until the conclusion of the 2000 season, when he replaced Kevin Gilbride as the team's offensive coordinator. He has a reputation for being an offense-oriented head coach with a penchant for trick plays. His skill for creating special packages to utilize multi-dimensional players such as Hines Ward and Antwaan Randle El earned him the nickname "Inspector Gadget". Even with his creative imagination, his philosophy of being the most physical punishing offense helped the Steelers average 10+ wins a year during his 3 years as offensive coordinator.

Buffalo Bills

In 2004, Mularkey left the Steelers and was hired by the Buffalo Bills to succeed Gregg Williams as the team's head coach. Mularkey started out his first campaign as Bills head coach with a record of 0–4. He rallied his team to a 9–7 record by the end of the season, however, sparked by a six-game winning streak during which the Bills scored more points than in any other similar stretch in franchise history. Overall they were 7th in the league in total offense. This has been their last winning season to date.

His second season in Buffalo was far less successful. Dogged by a quarterback controversy between J.P. Losman and Kelly Holcomb and a series of defensive personnel problems, Mularkey led the team to a 5–11 finish and a sixth consecutive year out of the playoffs - the longest such active streak in the AFC. Mularkey's offensive schemes continued to be touted by then general manager Tom Donahoe, despite the lack of production, finishing 24th in total offense.

On January 12, 2006, Mularkey resigned as head coach of the Bills, citing a disagreement in the direction of the organization, which had recently hired new management including ex-coach Marv Levy.

Miami Dolphins

On January 22, 2006, Mularkey was hired to be the Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator. As the offensive coordinator under Miami's coach, Nick Saban, Mularkey had an unsuccessful season with injuries to his first string quarterback, Daunte Culpepper, and running back, Ronnie Brown. The Dolphins only scored 16.3 points per game, ranking 29th in the NFL. Following the season, it was announced Saban had resigned as Dolphins head coach and he accepted the position of head coach of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide on January 3, 2007.

Upon the hiring of former San Diego Chargers offensive coordinator Cam Cameron as Dolphins head coach on January 19, 2007, it was announced that Mularkey would no longer serve as offensive coordinator but would remain with the team in another capacity. On March 15, 2007 it was officially announced that Cameron himself would call the offensive plays in 2007, leaving Mularkey to serve as tight ends coach.

The 2007 Dolphins finished with a record of 1-15, and on January 3, 2008, it was announced that Mularkey was let go from his tight ends coach position, as were all other coaches for the Miami Dolphins.

Atlanta Falcons

On January 25, 2008 it was announced that he would become the next offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons. In his first season at Atlanta, Mularkey's offense rushed for 152.5 rushing yards per game, second most in the league. The Falcons also finished 10th in the NFL in scoring (up from 29th the previous year) with 24.4 points per game, and 6th in yards with 361.2 per game. After the 2010 season, Mularkey interviewed with multiple NFL teams for their head coaching vacancies for 2011.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On January 11, 2012, Mularkey accepted the head coaching job for the Jacksonville Jaguars, making him the third full time head coach of the franchise. His first win came in Week 3 of the 2012 season against the Indianapolis Colts.

On January 10, 2013, the Jacksonville Jaguars announced the firing of Mike Mularkey after only one season. He had lead the team to a dismal 2-14 record. It was the first move of the new general manager, Dave Caldwell, who began his tenure earlier that week. Mularkey had two years remaining on a three-year contract.

Head coaching record

Team	Year	Regular Season					Post Season
		Wins	Losses	Ties	Win %	Finish	Wins	Losses	Win %	Result
BUF	2004	9	7	0	.563	3rd in AFC East	-	-	-
BUF	2005	5	11	0	.313	3rd in AFC East	-	-	-
BUF Total		14	18	0	.438		0	0	.000
JAC	2012	2	14	0	.125	4th in AFC South	-	-	-
JAC Total		2	14	0	.125		0	0	.000
Total		16	32	0	.333		0	0	.000

Personal

Mularkey is married to Elizabeth "Betsy" Conant Mularkey, who is also a University of Florida alumna. The Mularkeys have two sons, Patrick and Shane. Patrick worked as a scouting assistant for the Jaguars for the two seasons prior to his father being hired as head coach. In January 2012, Patrick was named an assistant strength and conditioning coach for the team. In February 2012, Shane was among the three former University of North Carolina athletes arrested on cocaine possession. He had played in all 13 games for the Tar Heels in 2009, but left the team after the 2010 season.

During his time as an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Mularkey was a radio spokesman for For God's Sake, a Pinellas Park based Christian book store owned by Marie Gonsalves.

See also

• Florida Gators
• Florida Gators football, 1980–89
• List of Buffalo Bills head coaches
• List of Florida Gators football players
• List of Pittsburgh Steelers players

Bibliography

• Carlson, Norm, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). ISBN 0-7948-2298-3.
• Golenbock, Peter, Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory, Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). ISBN 0-9650782-1-3.
• Hairston, Jack, Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told, Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). ISBN 1-58261-514-4.
• McCarthy, Kevin M., Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football, Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). ISBN 978-0-7385-0559-6.
• Nash, Noel, ed., The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football, Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). ISBN 1-57167-196-X.

Sporting positions
Preceded by Scott Linehan	Miami Dolphins Offensive Coordinator 2006	Succeeded by Dan Henning (2008)