Mike Waufle (born June 27, 1954) is a former

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 who most recently served as the

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

coach for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

of 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). Waufle served as defensive line coach 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 ...

from 1998 to 2003 and coached in

Super Bowl XXXVII Super Bowl XXXVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...

after the 2002 season. Waufle coached primarily single gap 4 man defensive lines in a

4–3 defense In American football, a 4–3 defense is a defensive alignment consisting of four down linemen and three linebackers. It is called a "base defense" because it is the default defensive alignment used on "base downs" (1st and 2nd downs). However, ...

. He was the defensive line 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 ...

from 2004 to 2009, and the defensive lines he coached were a strength of the team. He won

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 ...

in 2007; in that game the defensive line's performance is generally credited with being a decisive factor. The defensive line of the Giants during the Super Bowl sacked Tom Brady 5 times, leaving little time for Patriots receivers to get downfield before defensive linemen reached Brady. Holding the Patriots historically high scoring offense to 14 points the Giants defeated the previous undefeated New England Patriots. He returned to the Raiders in 2010 and 2011. From 2012 to 2016, he was the defensive line coach for the

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

under head coach Jeff Fisher. He coached the

defensive line in 2017. Buffalo returned to the playoffs after 17 years. Waufle retired after the 2017 season.

Early years

Waufle served in the

United States Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...

from 1972 to 1975. He played

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for

Bakersfield College Bakersfield College (BC) is a Public college, public Community colleges in the United States, community college in Bakersfield, California. BC serves about 31,000 students each semester or 46,500 annually, and offers associate degrees, certifica ...

in 1975 and 1976. Bakersfield College won the 1976 Junior Rose Bowl and was named Junior College National Champions. He transferred to Utah State, where he played for defensive line coach Rod Marinelli. Utah State won the PCAA Conference Championship in 1978. In 2009 he was awarded the Marine Corps “Lifetime Achievement Award” by Commandant General James T. Conway.

References

1954 births Living people American football defensive linemen Alfred Saxons football coaches California Golden Bears football coaches Fresno State Bulldogs football coaches New York Giants coaches Oakland Raiders coaches Oregon State Beavers football coaches UCLA Bruins football coaches Utah State Aggies football coaches Utah State Aggies football players United States Marines People from Hornell, New York Players of American football from New York (state) St. Louis Rams coaches Bakersfield College alumni Buffalo Bills coaches {{amfoot-coach-stub