Michael L. Pope (born March 14, 1942) is an American former coach 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). He is best known as the tight ends coach for the

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

, serving on all four of their

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

championship teams.

Early life

Pope attended

Lenoir–Rhyne University Lenoir–Rhyne University is a private Lutheran university in Hickory, North Carolina. It was founded in 1891 and is affiliated with the North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Academics The university is acc ...

Hickory, North Carolina Hickory is a city in western North Carolina primarily located in Catawba County, North Carolina, Catawba County. The List of municipalities in North Carolina, 25th most populous city in the state, it is located approximately northwest of Charlot ...

and 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 ...

for the

Lenoir–Rhyne Bears The Lenoir–Rhyne Bears are the athletic teams that represent Lenoir–Rhyne University, located in Hickory, North Carolina, in intercollegiate sports at the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Bears h ...

as a fullback from 1960 to 1963. In 1960, Pope's freshman year, Lenoir–Rhyne won the NAIA Football National Championship. As a senior in 1963, Pope was the team's captain.

Coaching career

High school and college coaching

After graduating from Lenoir–Rhyne in 1964, Pope began his coaching career that fall as

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches a ...

and head football coach at Lenoir High School in Lenoir. He moved to Olympic High School in Charlotte in 1966 and then to Samuel W. Wolfson High School in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, serving as backfield coach at both schools. In 1969, Pope was hired as athletic director and head football coach at

Lake Wales High School Lake Wales High School is a high school located in Lake Wales, Florida, serving the city of Lake Wales and nearby communities such as Frostproof, Dundee, and Winter Haven, Florida. It is part of Lake Wales Charter Schools. History Lake Wales s ...

Lake Wales, Florida Lake Wales is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 16,361 at the 2020 census. History Early history A survey by W.A. Williams and J. ...

. Pope moved to the college level in 1970 as a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research resp ...

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

. In February 1971, he was appointed director of high school relations for the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University (FSU) located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I, prima ...

by newly hired head coach Larry Jones.

Bill Parcells Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells ( ; born August 22, 1941) is an American former football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons. He came to prominence as the head coach of the New York Giants from 19 ...

and Steve Sloan were also members of Jones's staff.

New York Giants (1983–1991)

Pope coached for the

for 23 years, the longest of any coach in franchise history. During his first stint in New York, he coached

Mark Bavaro Mark Anthony Bavaro (born April 28, 1963) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for the New York Giants (1985–1990), Cleveland Browns (1992), and Philadelphia Eagles (1993–1994) in the National Football Lea ...

to two

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

appearances. Pope was on the Giants coaching staff for both

Super Bowl XXI Super Bowl XXI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

and

Super Bowl XXV Super Bowl XXV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the ...

Cincinnati Bengals (1992–1993)

Tight ends coach (1992)

Pope was hired by the Bengals prior to the 1992 season and spent one year as the tight ends coach.

Offensive coordinator (1993)

Pope was promoted to offensive coordinator on January 8, 1993. The 1993 Bengals finished with a 3–13 record, including losing all eight road games and starting the season 0–10. The team finished with the 28th (last) ranked offense in the league.

New England Patriots (1994–1996)

Pope was hired by the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

prior to the 1994 season to serve as running backs coach for the Patriots. After one season, he was moved to tight ends coach, where he served for the next two years.

Washington Redskins (1997–1999)

Pope was hired by the

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

prior to the 1997 season. On February 10, 2000, he left the Redskins and returned to the New York Giants.

Second stint with the Giants (2000–2013)

Pope was hired by the Giants prior to the 2000 season. He spent the next 14 years as the team's tight ends coach, where he was instrumental in the development of players such as

Jeremy Shockey Jeremy Charles Shockey (born August 18, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, earning first-team All-American hon ...

, Jake Ballard, and

Kevin Boss Kevin Michael Boss (born January 11, 1984) is an American former professional football tight end. He was selected in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL draft by the New York Giants out of Western Oregon University. With the Giants, he won Super Bowl ...

. Pope was the lone holdover from

Jim Fassel James Edward Fassel (August 31, 1949 – June 7, 2021) was an American college and professional football player and coach. He was the head coach of the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) from 1997 to 2003. He was offensive coo ...

's staff who coached with

Tom Coughlin Thomas Richard Coughlin ( ; born August 31, 1946) is an American former football coach and executive of the National Football League (NFL). He was the head coach for the New York Giants from 2004 to 2015. He led the Giants to victory in Super ...

. During this time, he won Super Bowl rings when the Giants defeated the

in both

Super Bowl XLII Super Bowl XLII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

and

Super Bowl XLVI Super Bowl XLVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

. On January 15, 2014, it was announced that Pope would be let go by the Giants.

Dallas Cowboys (2014–2016)

Pope was hired by the

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

on January 22, 2014. After the Cowboys defeated the Giants on October 19, 2014, Pope was given a game ball. Pope retired on March 1, 2017, bringing an end to a 47-year coaching career, including 34 years in the NFL.

Personal life

Pope is married to Lee with two sons, Travus and Daron, and four grandchildren. Pope's personal connection to the Giants can be seen in the choice of name for one of his grandsons, Wellington, named for Giants' late owner

Wellington Mara Wellington Timothy Mara (August 14, 1916 – October 25, 2005) was an American professional football executive. He was the co-owner of the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) from 1959 until his death. He was the younger son o ...

. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in January 2003.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Mike 1942 births Living people American football quarterbacks Cincinnati Bengals coaches Dallas Cowboys coaches Florida State Seminoles football coaches Lenoir–Rhyne Bears football players New England Patriots coaches New York Giants coaches Ole Miss Rebels football coaches Texas Tech Red Raiders football coaches Washington Redskins coaches High school football coaches in Florida High school football coaches in North Carolina Sportspeople from Monroe, North Carolina Players of American football from Union County, North Carolina Coaches of American football from North Carolina Players of American football from Charlotte, North Carolina