By Tyler Wooten
GoSycamores.com
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – It's probably not nearly as well-known as Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, but Six Degrees of Mike Sheppard is a fun game to link some of the greatest football coaches of the last 30 years – and beyond.
Bill Belichick. Brian Billick. Nick Saban. Those are just a few of the many great football minds that Mike Sheppard – long-time NFL and college coach and father to current Indiana State offensive coordinator Brian Sheppard – has worked alongside, not counting numerous others still coaching in the pros today that he helped mentor.
The elder Sheppard began his career as an assistant at his alma mater – California Lutheran – before becoming Brigham Young's graduate assistant in 1977. At BYU, Sheppard's fellow GA was former Baltimore Ravens head coach Brian Billick – for whom Brian Sheppard is named after.
“He's been blessed to be around some really good coaches who are also really good people,” Brian Sheppard said. “He was around guys like Mike Holmgren, Norm Chow, Mike McCarthy and so many others.”
Mike Sheppard's first big-time promotion was to Division I-AA Idaho State, where in his two years as the offensive coordinator he helped turn the Bengals into national champions in 1981. On that team were current Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis and current Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter.
Sheppard's relationship with Lewis didn't stop there. Lewis was immediately hired as a GA at Idaho State following his playing career, and Sheppard brought him along to be the linebackers coach while Sheppard was the head coach at both Long Beach State (1984-86) and New Mexico (1987-91). They even reunited in Baltimore in 1996 during the Ravens' first season in the NFL, with Lewis serving as the defensive coordinator and Sheppard the wide receivers coach.
Just a few years later in 2000 Lewis would link with Sheppard-connection Brian Billick and win Super Bowl XXXV together (sans Sheppard, of course). Strangely enough, Sheppard and Lewis met again from 2007-10 in Cincinnati, where he was Lewis' wide receivers coach, along the way mentoring star receiver Chad Johnson.
Being one of the most in-demand coaches meant almost yearly occurrences of packing up his family and moving to a new town. Brian Sheppard doesn't ever remember that as being a difficult thing to deal with, but rather a new challenge.
“A lot of people ask about how it was moving every few years, but I loved it; I don't know any different,” Sheppard said. “When we moved, to me that was always another opportunity.”
What helped in that effort was the willingness of the Sheppard family to remain close.
“I feel like we always had such a close-knit family that it didn't matter wherever we were at – that was home,” he continued. “One thing I learned from my dad – other than how to be a detail-oriented and thorough coach – was to maintain the balance of a family life.”
One of the more memorable stops for the Sheppard family was in Cleveland with the Browns from 1993-95, where he spent time as both the tight ends and wide receivers coach.
“When my dad was with the Browns, that's when Belichick was there, Saban was there, (current Iowa head coach) Kirk Ferentz, (former Fresno State head coach) Pat Hill, (former Jets and Browns head coach, as well as current 49ers defensive coordinator) Eric Mangini, (former Browns quarterback) Bernie Kosar, (former Heisman Trophy winner) Vinny Testaverde – all those guys,” Sheppard said.
As a kid, Sheppard would go down to the field in Cleveland before the game and toss the ball to himself. One Sunday, a man in a hat with no brim came over and played catch with him. About eight weeks into that particular season, Sheppard finally had the nerve to ask his dad who that was. Little did he know it was arguably the best to ever play the game: Jim Brown.
“I had no clue I was playing catch with Jim Brown for like eight weeks,” Sheppard said. “That was just awesome.”
Being so close to the game gave Brian Sheppard a remarkable advantage as he started out his coaching career. In doing so, Mike Sheppard – ever the good coach and teacher – sent his son on a tour of all of these coaching luminaires to seek guidance in how to become a football coach, secretly as a test to see if he had what it took. Brian passed the test though, saying he came out the other side of the gauntlet more determined than ever to break into the coaching ranks.
“He taught me to just outwork people,” Brian Sheppard said. “That doesn't mean with hours, it just means to be smart and efficient with your time and be intentional and detail-oriented.”
According to Brian, his father was known for his ability to tackle issues head-on to find a solution rather than lamenting problems – something he has tried to emulate in his short time as a coach.
“He could get after guys and they would respond without having to put them down,” Sheppard said. “Players respect knowledge. If you can get them better and they know you're coming from the right place, you can get that done.”
Sheppard's father instilled in him many things about football – particularly about offense, seeing as he was one of the chief instigators in the popularization of the West Coast offense – but that was the most important: developing relationships with players, which he has been at work toward for three years now in Terre Haute.
“I've been lucky enough to develop a personal relationship with these players to earn their trust to the point where they allow me to push them and coach them as hard as I can,” Sheppard said. “They understand I have their best interest in mind all the time.”
One of those instances was last year in the development of quarterback Mike Perish, who helped lead ISU to its first trip to the FCS playoffs since 1983.
“Mike was so sharp and competitive and he knew I was coming from the right place,” Sheppard said. “I was lucky to be around him. He did a great job as a leader.”
Perish is now gone and the Sycamores have a decision to make at quarterback. But with the wealth of experience and knowledge Sheppard has cultivated from various sources over the years, whoever gets the job should feel comfortable that similar success awaits them.
“Last year was last year,” Sheppard said. “No one even thinks about that anymore because half of those faces are gone. I think there's a hunger that our guys want to be good.”
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