Chris

Shula

The son of David and grandson of Don, Shula is perhaps most importantly now a scion of Sean McVay. The Dolphins had been circling for their DC opening as they look to replace Vic Fangio. Still only 37 years old, Shula has been with McVay since the beginning in Los Angeles, so it’s a continuity combined with upside hire. Like Brandon Staley and Raheem Morris before him, Shula comes into the job with a high floor because of perennial All-Pro game-wrecker Aaron Donald. The problem, as always, for McVay is that Shula will get poached immediately if he experiences any level of success. His fancy last name doesn’t hurt, either.

As one might have guessed, Shula is the grandson of legendary Dolphins head coach Don Shula, who holds the NFL record with 347 career wins. Shula, 37, has spent the last seven seasons with the Rams, serving primarily as a linebackers coach. He served as the pass game coordinator in 2022 and the pass rush coordinator in 2023. While he feels like a long shot to get the job relative to other candidates, Shula’s family ties to the organization make him an interesting candidate. He also received an interview for the Eagles defensive coordinator role last season.

Yes, he’s from that line of Shulas. Dave’s son and Don’s grandson. Shula played with Sean McVay at Miami and has served on his staff since 2017 as an assistant linebackers coach, linebackers coach, and pass-game coordinator/defensive backs coach last season. This is his first interview for a coordinator position that we know of. The Eagles also interviewed University of Michigan DC Jesse Minter for the job.