John Shoop (born August 1, 1969) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach and former

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

, who is the current head coach of the Nordic Storm in the

European League of Football The European League of Football (ELF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football sports league, league based in Europe, continuing some team names and logos of the former NFL Europe. The ELF played its first season in 2 ...

(ELF). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at Sewanee. He has coached in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) and at the collegiate level.

Early life

Growing up in

Oakmont, Pennsylvania Oakmont is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the Allegheny River. The population was 6,758 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a suburb in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. ...

, Shoop played

in high school, and continued his football career at Sewanee: The University of the South. Shoop was a member of the Tigers football team from 1987 to 1990, starting from 1988 to 1990. As a senior captain in 1990, Shoop lead the Tigers to a Collegiate Athletic Conference title.

Coaching career

Early career

Shoop began his coaching career as a volunteer quarterbacks coach at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

in 1991. He served as a graduate assistant at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

from 1992 to 1994, where he earned a Master of Education degree from Vanderbilt's Peabody School of Education.

Carolina Panthers

Shoop spent four seasons with the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

, where he began his NFL coaching career at the age of 25. Shoop was an offensive quality control assistant for the Panthers from 1995 to 1996. He served as quarterbacks coach for Carolina from 1997 to 1998.

Chicago Bears

Shoop worked five seasons (1999–2003) for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

under head coach

Dick Jauron Richard Manual Jauron (; October 7, 1950February 8, 2025) was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played eight seasons in the NFL as a safety, five with the Detroit Lions and three with t ...

. He served as the quarterbacks coach in 1999 and 2000. He was named offensive coordinator for the last four games of the 2000 season following incumbent Gary Crowton's departure for the head coaching position at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

. Shoop then spent the next three seasons as the offensive coordinator (2001–2003). James "Big Cat" Williams, the Bears Pro Bowl offensive lineman, nicknamed the offense " The Run and Shoop" during Shoop's tenure as offensive coordinator.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Shoop was quarterbacks coach for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

in 2004 under head coach

Jon Gruden Jon David Gruden (born August 17, 1963) is an American football coach and media personality currently employed by Barstool Sports. After beginning his coaching career in the college ranks and working as a position coach and as an offensive co ...

Oakland Raiders

Shoop then coached for the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

where he served as quarterbacks coach in 2005, the tight ends coach in 2006, and as offensive coordinator for the final five games of the 2006 season.

North Carolina

In January 2007, Shoop left the Raiders to become the offensive coordinator of the

North Carolina Tar Heels football The North Carolina Tar Heels football team represents the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the sport of American football or gridiron football. The Tar Heels play in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subd ...

team.

Purdue

On January 24, 2013,

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

head football coach, Darrell Hazell hired Shoop to be the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Boilermakers football team after taking a year off from coaching. Purdue's offense struggled in 2013 as Purdue was shut out in back-to-back games for the first time in 60 years and averaged less than 70 yards rushing and 285 yards of total offense per game over the course of the season. After two more seasons of similar struggles, Shoop was fired after the 2015 season.

Statistics

Team offensive statistics where Shoop was offensive coordinator.

Personal life

Shoop is an advocate for players' rights in

college athletics College sports or college athletics encompasses amateur sports played by non- professional, collegiate and university-level student athletes in competitive sports and games. College sports have led to many college rivalries. College sports ...

. His dismissal from Purdue and his subsequent absence from coaching in college football have also been attributed to conflicts with athletic department administrators over player eligibility,

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...

education and his support of a player

unionization Unionization is the creation and growth of modern trade unions. Trade unions were often seen as a Left-wing politics, left-wing, Socialism, socialist concept, whose popularity has increased during the 19th century when a rise in industrial capit ...

attempt at Northwestern and name, image and likeness (NIL) rights. His older brother Bob Shoop is also a football coach. Shoop lives with his wife Marcia in

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...

. He made a recovery from

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

but was later diagnosed with

Langerhans cell histiocytosis Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is an abnormal clonal proliferation of Langerhans cells, abnormal cells deriving from bone marrow and capable of migrating from skin to lymph nodes. Symptoms range from isolated bone lesions to multisystem d ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shoop, John 1969 births Living people American football quarterbacks Carolina Panthers coaches Chicago Bears coaches Dartmouth Big Green football coaches NFL offensive coordinators North Carolina Tar Heels football coaches Oakland Raiders coaches Purdue Boilermakers football coaches Sewanee Tigers football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches Vanderbilt Commodores football coaches Nordic Storm European League of Football coaches Players of American football from Pittsburgh