91影视破解版

About a month after becoming just the fifth head coach in the more than half-century history of 91影视破解版 football, Pete Shinnick is sitting in his corner office in the field house at Johnny Unitas庐 Stadium. The walls are still mostly bare; since being hired on Dec. 11, his time has been monopolized by recruiting, not interior decorating.

Still, he did make sure a few things were hung. Behind glass in one frame is a photo of his father, former Baltimore Colts linebacker Don Shinnick, squaring up, his form perfect, preparing to tackle an about-to-be-in-pain New York Giant. In another, his dad and Johnny U himself are embracing, all smiles, after a victory (pictured). The elder Shinnick and the legendary Colts quarterback were great friends, and the fact that Don鈥檚 son is now coaching in the stadium named for Unitas, well, some people might call that fate.

But kismet alone is not responsible for bringing Pete Shinnick to this place, at this moment. That was accomplished through years of hard work, often as far from the spotlight as a football coach can be. Shinnick has built a resume that speaks for itself. He won at Azusa Pacific, a small California school that at the time competed in the NAIA (roughly equivalent to the NCAA鈥檚 Division III). He won at Division II UNC Pembroke, which didn鈥檛 even have a program before he arrived. And after starting yet another program from scratch at the University of West Florida in 2014, he won the Division II national title in 2019. In 20 years as a collegiate head coach, he鈥檚 amassed a 159-67 record.

Now, a new challenge awaits. Shinnick, 57, has never coached at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level, just one step removed from the top. It was the chance to do that in a place he鈥檚 long felt ties to that attracted him to the job.

鈥淲hen I look at this university and what鈥檚 taken place over the course of the last 10 years, you see a growing, vibrant campus,鈥� he says. 鈥淣ot many FCS programs are in this type of setting. I don鈥檛 care who you are, it鈥檚 very difficult to get to a national championship game, and so to do it in the D-III level, the D-II level and FCS [as 91影视破解版 has done], that鈥檚 unique. Yeah, those are years apart, but it shows that everything aligns and there鈥檚 an opportunity for something here.鈥� 

Pete Shinnick was born in Baltimore, and though he only lived there for the first five years of his life, his parents always considered it home.

鈥淚 think if my dad hadn鈥檛 gone into coaching, my family would still be living here,鈥� he says. 鈥淢y dad passed away about 20 years ago, and my mom still says this is the favorite place that she鈥檚 lived. For all the moving that they did, that鈥檚 a heck of a comment.鈥�

The Shinnicks followed the nomadic path of a football coach鈥檚 family. As Don jumped from one assistant coaching job to the next, first with the Chicago Bears, then the Oakland Raiders, followed by the St. Louis Cardinals, his family moved too. Despite the constant upheaval, Pete loved being the son of an NFL player and coach. Once, he attended a practice in Oakland where he played catch with Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler.

鈥淭here was a kid at school who had gotten Stabler鈥檚 autograph at some signing session,鈥� Shinnick recalls. 鈥淗e was showing it to the kids, and I really wasn鈥檛 that interested. He was like, 鈥榃hat鈥檚 wrong, you don鈥檛 want to see it?鈥� I said, 鈥榃ell, I was playing catch with him the other day.鈥欌��

Shinnick loved football, but he didn鈥檛 start playing until high school. An offensive lineman, he got just one Division I offer, so he took it and enrolled at the University of Colorado. 

In Boulder, he struggled to get on the field until he learned to long snap. He knew he wasn鈥檛 going pro, so coaching was always in the back of his mind. After an ill-fated marketing internship, the business major was surer than ever that coaching was where his future lay.

His first job was as a volunteer assistant at the University of Richmond. His bank account was light, he worked long hours鈥攈e absolutely loved it.

鈥淚 enjoyed the competitiveness and camaraderie of it,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 really what has kept me in the game. It鈥檚 the most unique sport out there. There are 105 guys. You鈥檝e got a staff. How do you get everyone on the same page? I saw that as a unique challenge.鈥�

As his career progressed, Shinnick made his way to bigger programs. He worked with the defensive line at Arkansas and served as the recruiting coordinator at Oregon State. In between he coached tight ends at Clemson, where he met his wife, Traci, at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes dinner. They鈥檝e been married for 31 years and have four children and two grandchildren.

At each stop, he channeled the coaching lessons he learned from his father.

鈥淗is philosophy was trying to make the experience for the player great,鈥� Shinnick says. 鈥淭he first thing my dad did very well was he never forgot what it was like to be a player. He never forgot that we鈥檝e got helmets and shoulder pads on, it鈥檚 hot out here, it鈥檚 muggy, there鈥檚 humidity. Number two was to really coach the whole person. This guy is under my care, and it鈥檚 not just about football. It鈥檚 about what type of person he鈥檚 going to become, what type of husband he鈥檚 going to become, what type of father he鈥檚 going to become.鈥�

In 1999, Shinnick was hired as head coach of Azusa Pacific University. Although it鈥檚 located just 15 miles west of the Rose Bowl, one of college football鈥檚 shrines, it couldn鈥檛 be further from the upper echelons of the sport. That first year, his only full-time assistant was his defensive coordinator.

鈥淵ou can make wherever you鈥檙e at be whatever you want it to be,鈥� he says. 鈥淲hat you learn is that you can probably do way more than you thought you could. I learned that the administrative aspect of it is something I鈥檓 very good at. Mapping it all out.鈥�

After seven years there, Shinnick moved east to start the program at UNC Pembroke, in rural North Carolina. Success came quickly. In his second season, the team went 9-1. Overall, six of his seven years were winning ones, but he had an itch to face stiffer competition. So it was off to Pensacola, where the University of West Florida was looking for someone to build its program, slated to join the powerful Gulf South Conference, from scratch.

鈥淲e started with a phone and a cubicle,鈥� says UWF Athletic Director Dave Scott. 鈥淎s soon as we hit the ground running with Pete, we knew that he was the right guy because of how he interacted with our faculty and our staff. Pete鈥檚 a great communicator. He鈥檚 a great motivator. He鈥檚 about lifting up the student-athletes, training them to be better people. We want them to be not only successful on the field but in the classroom and in the community. His personal vision matched up well with what we want to do as a department.鈥�

Once again, year two proved to be a breakthrough. The Argonauts notched 11 victories. Two years later, they won 13, the last of which was the national championship game.

From the onset, Shinnick set out to build a specific culture at UWF. Argonauts are a band of heroes in Greek mythology, so for his program鈥檚 theme, Shinnick chose the Greek word arete, which means excellence.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an amazing word to encompass every aspect of someone鈥檚 life, to say, 鈥楲et鈥檚 get you to be the best version of yourself that we possibly can,鈥欌�� says the folksy, affable-yet-driven Shinnick. 鈥淲e say, 鈥楢re you living up to your fullest potential when you鈥檙e going to study hall, when you鈥檙e going to class, when you鈥檙e in the weight room, on the practice field, when you鈥檙e home as a son?鈥� I told myself, 鈥榃e鈥檙e going to use it here, but if I go somewhere else that鈥檚 going to be the standard: Live up to your fullest potential.鈥欌��

When 91影视破解版 put together a magical run to the 2013 FCS championship game, Shinnick began taking notice. 

鈥淚鈥檝e been tracking their success, and I think there鈥檚 a handful of FCS jobs that are unique, that have the combination of location and campus that I would say, 鈥楬ey, if that ever opened up, that would be appealing to me.鈥欌��

The feeling was mutual. When UWF reached the national semifinals last season, 91影视破解版 Director of Athletics Steve Eigenbrot took notice.

鈥淭his job had an amazing candidate pool, which allowed us to be very selective,鈥� he said in announcing Shinnick鈥檚 hire. 鈥淯ltimately, character and fit for Towson drove us to this place. We listened to a lot of alumni, fans and supporters. They wanted someone who understands how to build and run a program and has a history of meaningful and relevant success.
Obviously, the ability to develop players and recruit were high on the list, especially with this area being so rich in talent. Pete checked all those boxes and then some.鈥�

After signing a five-year contract, he started working on the roster immediately, convincing leading tackler Mason Woods to withdraw from the transfer portal. About 80 players attended his first team meeting.

鈥淲hen we talked to our guys it was really, 鈥楲ook, this is who we are and this is how we do things,鈥欌�� he says. 鈥溾�橳his is the standard that we鈥檙e going to hold you accountable to. If you can grasp all of that, then you鈥檙e going to have a great opportunity to be successful here. If you want different rules for yourself, if you want to fall into your own category, this is not the
program for you.鈥欌��

Shinnick called plays for 23 years, but here he鈥檚 relinquishing those duties to offensive coordinator Brian Sheppard. He wants his focus to be more program-wide.

鈥淚 think we have a great football alumni group,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 feel like engaging with them will bring them back into the fold a little bit. I think there鈥檚 other things in the community that my time can be spent doing while not having to worry about a practice script or a gameplan in the detail that it takes to call the plays. You still gotta worry about all those things as a head coach but not to the finite detail that it takes.鈥�

 Clearly, an abundance of free time is a luxury Shinnick does not possess. As he sits in his office, he takes a moment to reflect on the circular path his life has taken.

鈥淒ad would say what a small world that this has worked out to be,鈥� Shinnick says. 鈥淗e鈥檇 be proud.鈥�

Somewhere, Don Shinnick and his buddy Johnny U are smiling.