Michael Tullis Nolan (born March 7, 1959) is a former

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

coach. Nolan previously served as a head coach for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

, and a defensive coordinator for the NFL's

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

, New York Jets,

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pl ...

, Atlanta Falcons, and

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

. Nolan is a former linebackers coach for the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

, and

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

College years

Nolan attended the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

and was a three-year letterman in football and starter at safety.

Coaching career

College

He has coached at the collegiate level at Stanford University,

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranked among the top universit ...

, and LSU before moving on to the National Football League.

Denver Broncos

In 1987, Nolan was hired by the

as a special teams coach under head coach,

Dan Reeves Daniel Edward Reeves (January 19, 1944 – January 1, 2022) was an American football running back and coach in the National Football League (NFL). During his 38 years in the NFL, Reeves participated in nine Super Bowls, the third most for an ...

. In 1989, he was promoted to linebackers coach.

New York Giants

In 1993, Nolan followed Dan Reeves to the

and he was hired as defensive coordinator.

Washington Redskins

In 1997, Nolan was hired as defensive coordinator for the

New York Jets

In 2000, Nolan was hired by the New York Jets as their defensive coordinator under head coach Al Groh.

Baltimore Ravens

In 2001, Nolan was hired as wide receivers coach for the

. He was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2002.

San Francisco 49ers

In 2005, Nolan was hired as the head coach of the

, following in his father's footsteps, the former

and

head coach, Dick Nolan. He also served as his own general manager. 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's attitude could co-exist with him. Nolan finished the 2005 season with a 4–12 record. The next season, Nolan led a late season run and the 49ers improved 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.

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 had with

Reebok Reebok International Limited () is an American fitness footwear and clothing manufacturer that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It was established in England in 1958 as a companion company to J.W. Foster and Sons, a sporting goods company ...

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 The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...

on November 19, 2006. A day later,

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

head coach Jack Del Rio sported another Reebok suit on

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, A ...

. 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.

Denver Broncos (second stint)

In early 2009, Nolan was hired by the

as the defensive coordinator under head coach, Josh McDaniels. With a new 3-4 defense the Denver Broncos gave up the fewest points in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

(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 Super Bowl XXXIII was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos (who were also defending their Super Bowl XXXII championship) and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion At ...

. 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.

Miami Dolphins

On January 19, 2010, Nolan was hired by the

as defensive coordinator. In the 2010 season, the Dolphins finished 14th in points allowed per game (20.8), 6th in yards allowed per game (309.3) and 12th in Football Outsiders' DVOA. In the 2011 season, they finished 6th in points allowed per game (19.6), 15th in yards allowed per game (345.1) and 13th in Football Outsiders' DVOA.

Atlanta Falcons

On January 17, 2012, Nolan was hired by the Atlanta Falcons as defensive coordinator. In the 2012 season, the Falcons finished 5th in points allowed per game (18.7), 24th in yards allowed per game (365.6) and 9th in Football Outsiders' DVOA. In the 2013 season, they finished 27th in both points (27.7) and yards (379.4) allowed per game, and 26th in Football Outsiders' DVOA. In the 2014 season, Atlanta finished 27th in points allowed per game (26.1), 32nd in yards allowed per game (398.2) and 31st in Football Outsiders' DVOA.

San Diego Chargers

In 2015, Nolan was hired by the

as their linebackers coach.

New Orleans Saints

In 2017, Nolan was hired by the

as their linebackers coach.

Dallas Cowboys

On January 5, 2020, Nolan was hired by the

as their defensive coordinator. On January 8, 2021, the Cowboys fired Nolan, along with defensive line coach Jim Tomsula after finishing the season with a 6–10 record and allowing a franchise-record 473 points.

Head coaching record

Personal life

Nolan is married to Kathy, and has four children, Michael, Matthew, Jennifer and Christopher. He is a devout

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

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His sons are sometimes seen on the sidelines. He also has three brothers and two sisters. Nolan attended

Bellarmine College Preparatory Bellarmine College Preparatory is an all-male, Jesuit, private secondary school located in San Jose, California. Founded in 1851, it is the oldest secondary school in California and the second-oldest west of the Mississippi River. In 2020, Nic ...

in San Jose, California and Woodside High School, the alma mater of Julian Edelman. Nolan's father, former 49ers and Saints coach Dick Nolan, died at age 75 on November 11, 2007, just a day before Mike's 49ers were to take on the

. Nolan decided to coach the

game in honor of his dad.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nolan, Mike 1959 births Living people American football safeties American Roman Catholics Atlanta Falcons coaches Baltimore Ravens coaches Dallas Cowboys coaches Denver Broncos coaches LSU Tigers football coaches Miami Dolphins coaches National Football League defensive coordinators New Orleans Saints coaches New York Giants coaches New York Jets coaches Oregon Ducks football coaches Oregon Ducks football players Rice Owls football coaches San Diego Chargers coaches San Francisco 49ers head coaches Sportspeople from Baltimore Stanford Cardinal football coaches Washington Redskins coaches