Shelton Eugene Quarles (born September 11, 1971) is an

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 ...

executive and former

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

who is the director of football operations for the

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 ...

of 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 at Vanderbilt and was signed by the

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 ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 1994. He also played for the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first seas ...

and the Buccaneers, the team he played for from 1997 to 2006.

Early years

Quarles is an alumnus o
Whites Creek High School
in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

and was a student and a

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

in football. In football, he won a first-team All-State honors as a senior, and finished his career with 30 sacks, 505

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

, and five interceptions. He was also a member of National Honor Society. Shelton Quarles graduated from Whites Creek High School in 1990.

Playing career

Quarles played college football in Vanderbilt earning second-team All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

honors as a senior and signed as an

by the

in 1994 but was cut in

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...

. Quarles then played for two seasons (

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

- 96) with the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

before signing with the

Buccaneers Buccaneers were a kind of privateers or free sailors particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from the Restoration in 1660 until about 1688 ...

as a free agent in 1997. Quarles helped lead the Buccaneers to their first Super Bowl championship in the 2002 season. Quarles also holds the record for the longest play in Buccaneers' history with a 98-yard interception return for a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers in 2001. On April 24, 2007, it was announced that the Bucs were going to release him before the 2007 NFL Draft after he failed a physical.

Executive career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On August 1, 2007, the Buccaneers hired Quarles as a pro scout in their personnel department. On January 20, 2011, the Buccaneers promoted Quarles to Coordinator of Pro Scouting. On July 16, 2013, the Buccaneers promoted Quarles to Director of Pro Scouting. On May 29, 2014, the Buccaneers promoted Quarles to Director of Football Operations.

Personal life

Quarles is married to his wife, Damaris, and have three children together: a daughter, Gabriela Nicole, and sons, Shelton Eugene Jr. and Carlos Antonio. They reside in

Tampa Bay, Florida Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater in ...

. Quarles launched th
IMPACT Foundation
whose mission is to benefit at-risk children, youth, and their families by providing assistance, programs, and events designed to build self-esteem, provide unique life changing opportunities, and beneficiaries to set and achieve life goals. Upon retiring Quarles was appointed by Florida Governor Charlie Crist to the board of the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority. He served in the position until 2009.

References

External links

Tampa Bay Buccaneers profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quarles, Shelton 1971 births Living people African-American players of American football African-American players of Canadian football American football middle linebackers BC Lions players Canadian football linebackers Miami Dolphins players National Conference Pro Bowl players People from Nashville, Tennessee Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Tampa Bay Buccaneers scouts Vanderbilt Commodores football players National Football League executives National Football League scouts Tampa Bay Buccaneers executives Ed Block Courage Award recipients