Mike Nolan

For other people named Mike Nolan, see Mike Nolan (disambiguation).

Mike Nolan

Nolan in June 2008
Personal information
Date of birth	(1959-03-07) March 7, 1959
Place of birth	Baltimore, Maryland
Career information
Position(s)	Safety
College	University of Oregon
Head coaching record
Regular season	18–37 (.327)
Stats
Coaching stats (NFL)	Pro Football Reference
Team(s) as a coach/administrator
1981 Oregon (graduate assistant) 1982–1983 Stanford (linebackers coach) 1984 Rice (defensive line coach) 1985–1986 LSU (linebackers coach) 1987–1988 Denver Broncos (special teams coach) 1989–1992 Denver Broncos (linebackers coach) 1993–1996 New York Giants (defensive coordinator) 1997–1999 Washington Redskins (def. coord.) 2000 New York Jets (def. coord.) 2001 Baltimore Ravens (wide receivers coach) 2002–2004 Baltimore Ravens (def. coord.) 2005–2008 San Francisco 49ers (head coach) 2009 Denver Broncos (def. coord.) 2010–2011 Miami Dolphins (def. coord.) 2012–2014 Atlanta Falcons (def. coord.) 2015 San Diego Chargers (linebackers coach)

Mike Nolan (born March 7, 1959) is an American football coach. He was formerly head coach for the San Francisco 49ers and a defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Washington Redskins, New York Giants, Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins, and Atlanta Falcons.

College years

Nolan attended the University of Oregon and was a three-year letterman in football and starter at safety.

Coaching career

He has coached at the collegiate level at Stanford University, Rice University, and LSU before moving on to the National Football League.

The son of former San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints head coach, Dick Nolan, he signed with the 49ers in 2005 to be head coach, following in his father's footsteps. He also served as his own general manager. Nolan came to the Niners after establishing himself as the defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens, a position he held with three other teams: New York Jets (2000), Washington Redskins (1997–99), and New York Giants (1993–96).

Nolan and the 49ers selected Alex Smith with the first overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. Nolan thought Smith to be cerebral, introspective, and non-confrontational. Nolan also evaluated Aaron Rodgers but did not believe that Rodgers' attitude could co-exist with him. Nolan finished the 2005 season with a 4–12 record. Nolan led a late season run and the 49ers improved in 2006 to 7–9. That led to expectations for the 2007 season, which included at least 9 wins and a playoff appearance. The season started well at 2–0, but an 8-game losing streak ended all hope of a playoff run. During the season, he publicly disagreed with Smith over the severity of the quarterback's shoulder injury. Nolan had been under intense scrutiny in the Bay Area. After the season, Nolan lost his general manager position and on October 20, 2008, Nolan was fired and replaced by his assistant head coach Mike Singletary.

In early 2009 Mike Nolan became the defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos under Josh McDaniels. With a new 3-4 defense the Denver Broncos gave up the fewest points in the NFL (66) during the first six games of the season, and made their way to their first 6–0 start since the 1998 season in which they won Super Bowl XXXIII. The Broncos went 2 and 8 the rest of the way, and missed the playoffs. On January 18, 2010 Mike Nolan and Josh McDaniels mutually decided Nolan would resign as the defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos.

On January 19, 2010, Nolan was hired by the Miami Dolphins as Defensive Coordinator. On January 17, 2012, Nolan was hired by the Atlanta Falcons as Defensive Coordinator.

Suit issue

Following his hiring by the 49ers, Nolan asked the NFL for permission to wear a suit and tie on the sidelines as a tribute to his father. The league initially denied Nolan's request because of the contract it has with Reebok for its coaches to wear team-logo attire, a ruling that was changed during Nolan's second season as coach. In the new NFL policy, coaches were allowed to wear a full suit for only two home games per season. The suits were designed, marketed and labeled under the Reebok corporation. Nolan debuted the suit in a game at home against the Seattle Seahawks on November 19, 2006. A day later, Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio sported another Reebok suit on Monday Night Football.

After further lobbying by Nolan, the NFL and Reebok reached an agreement to allow suits to be worn at all home games in the 2007 season.

After his firing from the 49ers, however, he has simply worn team-issued apparel in all subsequent coaching jobs.

Coaching tree

Nolan has been linked to more than one coaching tree. He was a defensive coordinator for Brian Billick (who is part of the Sid Gillman/Bill Walsh coaching tree), Al Groh (who is part of the Bill Parcells coaching tree), and Norv Turner (part of the Jimmy Johnson tree). However, Nolan is most directly related to Dan Reeves. Reeves brought Nolan with him from Denver (where he was linebackers coach) to be the New York Giants defensive coordinator in 1993. Nolan excelled at the position and his success served as a springboard for later success with other teams.

NFL head coaching record

Team	Year	Regular Season					Post Season
		Won	Lost	Ties	Win %	Finish	Won	Lost	Win %	Result
SF	2005	4	12	0	.250	4th in NFC West	-	-	-	-
SF	2006	7	9	0	.438	3rd in NFC West				-
SF	2007	5	11	0	.313	3rd in NFC West				-
SF	2008	2	5	0	.286	Fired mid-season	-	-	-	-
SF Total		18	37	0	.327
Total		18	37	0	.327

Personal life

Married (to Kathy Nolan) with four children, and a devout Roman Catholic. His sons are sometimes seen on the sidelines. He has three brothers and two sisters.

Attended Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, California.

Nolan's father, former 49ers coach Dick Nolan, died at age 75 on November 11, 2007, just a day before Mike's 49ers were to take on the Seattle Seahawks. Nolan decided to coach the Monday Night Football game in honor of his dad, but was not able to get the win.

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by Rod Rust	New York Giants Defensive Coordinator 1993–1996	Succeeded by John Fox
Preceded by Ron Lynn	Washington Redskins Defensive Coordinator 1997–1999	Succeeded by Ray Rhodes
Preceded by Bill Belichick	New York Jets Defensive Coordinator 2000	Succeeded by Ted Cottrell
Preceded by Marvin Lewis	Baltimore Ravens Defensive Coordinator 2002–2004	Succeeded by Rex Ryan
Preceded by Mike Singletary	San Francisco 49ers Head Coach 2005–2008	Succeeded by Dennis Erickson
Preceded by Bob Slowik	Denver Broncos Defensive Coordinator 2009	Succeeded by Don Martindale
Preceded by Paul Pasqualoni	Miami Dolphins Defensive Coordinator 2010–2011	Succeeded by Kevin Coyle
Preceded by Brian VanGorder	Atlanta Falcons Defensive Coordinator 2012–2014	Succeeded by Richard Smith