re: Mike Shanahan (OC at Indiana)

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lol...It's hard to even look him up without getting bombarded by Mike Shanahan of the NFL

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Google him (just kidding you can't)

I bet if you searched up "Mike Shanahan football coach Indiana Hoosiers" you'd get an AI generated "No, Mike Shanahan has never coached football at the University of Indiana. He is an NFL coach and part of an esteemed NFL coaching family."

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Gerry D snapped 6 straight losing seasons and landed Kevin Faulk. Was riding high until Lou Tepper showed up with his Incomplete Linebacking.

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He was a great coach and fit at the time for LSU. He fell victim to the same thing Les Miles did - stubbornness and ego.

The best coaches will change when they have to. DiNardo went down with the ship and refused to fire assistants.

From Chat GPT

Mike Shanahan — Offensive Coordinator, Indiana Hoosiers



Core Philosophies
1. Tailor the offense to personnel
• He emphasizes adapting the scheme to the players’ strengths rather than forcing a rigid system. For example:
“I think they do an incredible job of playing to the quarterback’s strengths because they know that’s the focal point of the offense.”
• At Indiana, he’s blending “our core offense … from JMU” with existing run-game concepts from the offensive line coach.
2. Attack all areas of the field — horizontally and vertically
• He states:
“We want to be able to attack all areas of the field. Do it horizontally, vertically.”
• Meaning: not only deep shots, but short/intermediate routes, spread formations, multiple alignments.
3. Versatility among receivers & backs
• He views a wide-receiver room like a basketball team: point guards, power forwards, centers — i.e., different skill sets accomplished via receivers and slots.
• Running backs: he believes you must have multiple capable backs ready due to wear/tear across the season.
4. Attention to detail, execution & alignment
• He emphasizes that little things matter (alignments, pre-snap decisions).
• In the red zone: he talks about being aggressive, using variety, exploiting match-ups rather than simply “run because it’s short yardage.”
5. Game planning for mismatches, adapting to the opponent
• He describes evaluating opponent tendencies, using their habits against them. E.g., identifying favorable matchups, controlling line of scrimmage.
• He’s comfortable changing depending on the quarterback, scheme, and competition level.

Tactical Elements He Highlights
• RPO (Run-Pass Option) integration
He gives the quarterback freedom to read and decide.
“He knows when to hand the ball off. He knows when to give a receiver a chance.”
• Red-zone aggressiveness & variety
Rather than being conservative:
“Sometimes that means throwing the ball into the end zone on first or second down when typically teams might be expecting you to run the football.”
• Multiple running backs and rotation
To keep freshness, mitigate wear and tear:
“We’ve learned … you have to have a lot of running backs ready to go with all the collisions they take.”
• Cross-training receivers in different spots
Slots, outside, movement, multiple alignments:
“We’re going to cross-train those guys to do as much as they can … spots on the field.”
• Emphasis on controlling line of scrimmage in run game
Against good man-cover defenses:
“Definitely controlling the line of scrimmage. It starts up front with those guys… keeping us in positive down distance scenarios.”

Evidence of Success
• At James Madison Dukes (prior to Indiana), his offense averaged ~34.1 points per game in 2023, ranking 23rd nationally.
• At Indiana, the offense improved markedly: averaging 41.3 points per game in 2024 and ranking 2nd nationally in scoring offense.

How to Summarize His Philosophy

If I boiled it down to a few bullets:
• “Build around the quarterback and tailor to his strengths.”
• “Use formations and alignments to create advantageous matchups (horizontally & vertically).”
• “Rotate talent (receivers/running backs) to maintain freshness and exploit skill sets.”
• “Stress execution: alignments, matchups, details matter.”
• “Be aggressive in scoring situations (red zone) and flexible in scheme.”

He has spent two years in the power 4. Would be a good interview for OC

I did not realize Lanning is this young.

Mike Shanahan Wikipedia page
Mike Shanahan IU page