Michael Rene Mularkey (born November 19, 1961) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

coach and

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played college football for the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, and was drafted in the ninth round of the

1983 NFL Draft The 1983 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1983, at the New York Sh ...

by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

and lasted until the final round of cuts. Mularkey then signed with the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

with whom he played for six seasons before playing another three with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mularkey has since served as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills,

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

and

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

, the offensive coordinator for the Steelers,

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

and Atlanta Falcons, and the tight ends coach for the Dolphins, Titans,

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

, and Falcons.

Early years

Mularkey was born in

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

.Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Mike Mularkey
Retrieved May 19, 2011. He attended Northeast High School in

Oakland Park, Florida Oakland Park, officially the City of Oakland Park, is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 44,229. It is part of the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–West Palm Beach Metropolitan ...

, and played

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for the Northeast Hurricanes

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

team.

College career

Mularkey attended the

in Gainesville, Florida, where he played tight end for coach

Charley Pell Charles Byron Pell (February 17, 1941 – May 29, 2001) was an American college football player and coach. Pell was an Alabama native and an alumnus of the University of Alabama, where he played college football. He is most notably remember ...

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division o ...

team from 1980 to 1982.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 166, 174, 184 (2011). Retrieved August 31, 2011. Mularkey finished his college career with 55 catches for 628 yards and three touchdowns.

Professional career

In 1983, Mularkey was a ninth-round draft pick for the

, but was released before appearing in a game. He went on to play with the

until the conclusion of the 1988 season. In 1989, Mularkey 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 46 of them, and caught 102 passes for 1,222 yards and nine touchdowns.

Career statistics

Coaching career

Concordia University-St. Paul, Minnesota

Mularkey was given his first coaching position as an offensive/defensive line coach at Concordia University in St. Paul Minnesota for the 1993–94 season. He worked under head coach Tom Cross. Mularkey held the offensive/defensive lineman coaching position for one season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Mularkey started his NFL coaching career in 1994 with the

as a quality control coach for both the offense and defense. In 1995, he was promoted to tight ends coach and held the position for one season.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Mularkey was hired as the Steelers' tight ends coach in 1996 and held the position until the end 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 Hines Edward Ward Jr. (born March 8, 1976) is an American football coach and former wide receiver of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Georgia and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the ...

and

Antwaan Randle El Antwaan Randle El (; born August 17, 1979) is an American football coach and former player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. He is currently the wide receivers coach for the Detroit Lions of the Nati ...

earned him the nickname "

Inspector Gadget ''Inspector Gadget'' is a media franchise that began in 1983 with the DIC Entertainment animated television series '' Inspector Gadget''. Since the original series, there have been many spin-offs based on the show, including additional animated ...

Buffalo Bills

In 2004, Mularkey left the Steelers and was hired by the Buffalo Bills to succeed

Gregg Williams Gregg Williams (born July 15, 1958) is an American football coach. He most recently served as the defensive coordinator for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL) from 2019 to 2020. Previously, he was head coach of the Buffalo ...

as the team's

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

. 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. However, a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the regular-season finale kept the Bills out of the playoffs. Overall, they were seventh in the league in total offense. This would be the Bills’ last winning season until 2014. Mularkey’s second season in Buffalo was far less successful. Dogged by a quarterback controversy between J. P. Losman and

Kelly Holcomb Bryan Kelly Holcomb (born July 9, 1973) is a former American football quarterback of the National Football League. He was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in 1995. He played college football at Middle Tennessee State ...

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 American Football Conference (AFC). Mularkey's offensive schemes continued to be touted by then-general manager

Tom Donahoe Tom Donahoe is the senior director of player personnel for the Philadelphia Eagles. Previously, he was general manager of the Buffalo Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL. Biography Donahoe was born and raised in the Pittsburgh suburb of ...

, 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, who had recently hired new management, including ex-coach Marv Levy.

Miami Dolphins

On January 22, 2006, Mularkey was hired to be the

' offensive coordinator. As the offensive coordinator under Miami's head coach,

Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. (; born October 31, 1951) is an American football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Alabama since 2007. Saban previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins ...

, Mularkey had an unsuccessful season with injuries to his first-string quarterback

Daunte Culpepper Daunte Rachard Culpepper (born January 28, 1977) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football at UCF and was selected ...

and starting

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

Ronnie Brown Ronnie G. Brown Jr. (born December 12, 1981) is a former American football running back. After graduating from Cartersville High School in Georgia, Brown attended Auburn University to play college football for the Auburn Tigers. He and Cadill ...

. 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

Alabama Crimson Tide football The Alabama Crimson Tide football program represents the University of Alabama (variously Alabama, UA, or Bama) in the sport of American football. The team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Ass ...

team at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

on January 3, 2007. Upon the hiring of former San Diego Chargers offensive coordinator

Cam Cameron Malcolm "Cam" Cameron (born February 6, 1961) is an American football coach. He is the former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of the LSU Tigers football program. Cameron attended Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana and playe ...

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.

Atlanta Falcons

On January 25, 2008, it was announced that Mularkey would become the next offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons. In Mularkey's first season in Atlanta, the Falcons finished with an 11–5 record and the 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 sixth in yards with 361.2 per game. Mularkey was named the Assistant Coach of the Year by

Pro Football Writers of America The Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA), sometimes known as Pro Football Writers Association, is an organization that purports to be " heofficial voice of pro football writers, promoting and fighting for access to NFL personnel to best serve ...

following the 2008 season. Following a 13–3 season in 2010, Mularkey was named the Offensive Coordinator of the Year by '' Sporting News''. He 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

, making him the third full-time head coach in franchise history. His first win came in Week 3 against the Indianapolis Colts. Mularkey led the team to a 2–14 record. On January 10, 2013, the Jaguars fired Mularkey after only one season, which was the worst in franchise history. He had two years remaining on a three-year contract. However, Jaguars general manager David Caldwell, who had been hired on January 8, 2013, decided that the Jaguars needed "an immediate and clean restart" after winning only seven games in the past two seasons.

Tennessee Titans

On January 22, 2014, the

announced they hired Mularkey as their tight ends coach. He was given the title of assistant head coach the following season. On November 3, 2015, the Titans relieved

Ken Whisenhunt Kenneth Moore Whisenhunt (born February 28, 1962) is an American football coach and former tight end who is currently an offensive analyst for Penn State. He played college football at Georgia Tech and was drafted in the twelfth round of the 19 ...

of head coaching duties and announced that Mularkey would step in as interim head coach for the rest of the season. He had a 2–7 record as interim head coach as the Titans finished with a league-worst 3–13 record. On January 16, 2016, the Titans announced that they would retain Mularkey as their full-time head coach on a three-year contract in a highly criticized move by their fans and the media, who qualified the hire as "uninspired" and "awful." Mularkey was given full control over his staff, and on January 18, 2016, he hired former Atlanta Falcons wide receivers coach

Terry Robiskie Terrance Joseph Robiskie (born November 12, 1954) is a former American football coach and player. He previously served as an assistant coach for the Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Atlanta Falcons, Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, Washington R ...

as the offensive coordinator and promoted assistant defensive coordinator

Dick LeBeau Charles Richard "Dick" LeBeau ( ; born September 9, 1937) is a former American football cornerback and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He was active with the NFL for 59 consecutive seasons, 14 as a player with the Detroit Lions and ...

to defensive coordinator. Mularkey stated that the Titans would run an "Exotic Smashmouth" offense in 2016, meaning that they would go run-heavy, like a 1970s offense. After starting the season 1–3, the Titans beat the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

and

to improve to 3–3. Thanks to a last-minute Week 2 16–15 road victory over the Detroit Lions, a Week 10 47–25 blowout against the Green Bay Packers, and a game-winning 53-yard field goal to beat the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

on the road by a score of 19–17 in Week 14, the team came within just one game of earning an

AFC South The American Football Conference – Southern Division or AFC South is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created before the 2002 season when the league realigned d ...

division title and a trip to the playoffs, ending with a 9–7 record, the first winning season for Tennessee since 2011. The Titans also sent five players to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

, their highest number since 2008. In 2017, the Titans again finished with a 9–7 record, making the playoffs for the first time in nine years with a 15–10 victory over the

in the regular-season finale. In the Wildcard Round, the Titans rallied from a 21–3 halftime deficit against the Chiefs to narrowly win on the road by a score of 22–21; this was their first playoff victory since 2003. The Titans also sent six players to the Pro Bowl. Mularkey and the Titans agreed to part ways after the 35–14 road loss to the New England Patriots in the Divisional Round.

Atlanta Falcons (second stint)

After a year away from coaching, Mularkey was hired to be the Falcons' tight end coach on January 8, 2019.

Retirement

On January 9, 2020, Mularkey announced his retirement from coaching.

Head coaching record

* – Interim head coach

Personal life

Mularkey is married to Elizabeth "Betsy" Conant Mularkey, who is also a University of Florida graduate. They have two sons, Patrick and Shane. Shane was a scholarship football player at

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

, but ended his playing days after shoulder surgery.

References

Bibliography

* Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). . * Golenbock, Peter, ''Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory'', Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). . * Hairston, Jack, ''Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told'', Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). . * McCarthy, Kevin M.
''Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football''
Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). . * Nash, Noel, ed., ''The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football'', Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). . {{DEFAULTSORT:Mularkey, Mike 1961 births Living people American football tight ends Atlanta Falcons coaches Concordia Golden Bears football coaches Buffalo Bills head coaches Florida Gators football players Jacksonville Jaguars head coaches Miami Dolphins coaches Minnesota Vikings players National Football League offensive coordinators Pittsburgh Steelers coaches Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of American football from Fort Lauderdale, Florida Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches Tennessee Titans coaches Tennessee Titans head coaches Ed Block Courage Award recipients