After succeeding as the offensive coordinator of efficient, high-octane offenses for the better part of 16 years – 14 of those in the state of Texas – Mike Schultz enters his third season as head coach of the Lamar University football program. He was hired as the second head coach since the program’s rebirth in 2010 on December 21, 2016.
Schultz’s impact on the Cardinals has been immediate. In just his second season with the program, Schultz took a squad that was completely overlooked in the polls (LU was picked 10th of 11 teams in the 2018 SLC preseason poll) and rallied them to their first NCAA FCS postseason appearance in program history. By season’s end, the Cardinals had posted their second winning season since the program’s return and only its third since 1979. Big Red notched one of the top single-season turnarounds in the nation (going from 2-9 in 2017 to 7-5 in 2018) and closed the regular season with a six-game win streak that included wins over three nationally ranked schools and the conference co-champion. Even with everything Big Red accomplished during the regular season, the Cardinals still entered the postseason as the underdog. Despite the prognosticators, LU led the Northern Iowa for a majority of the game and had a chance to force overtime late before coming up just short.
Following the season, several Cardinals were recognized for their exploits on the field. Eleven Cardinals were named to the 2018 All-Southland Conference teams, including two first-team selections, the league newcomer of the year and the offensive linemen of the year. Seniors Davon Jernigan and Garrett Bowery both went on to receive All-America honors, while two players – Jernigan and Rodney Randle – signed free agent contracts to play at the next level (Randle – Los Angeles Chargers and Jernigan – Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL).
During his first season with the Red and White, Schultz took over the unenviable task of trying to guide one of the nation’s youngest teams through the rigors of a Division I schedule. The Cardinals opened camp with 57 new players (signees, walk-ons and transfers). Despite the team’s overall youth, the Cardinals still placed four athletes on the postseason All-Southland team.
Schultz’s players have reaped the rewards of his instruction in just two short years with the program. During that time LU has had 15 all-conference selections, including two first-teamers, a league newcomer of the year and a conference linemen of the year. In addition, Schultz has produced two All-Americans.
In addition to the standouts on the field, Schultz also produced three Academic All-Southland selections with senior Dedrick Garner receiving the honor in 2018.
A Houston native, Schultz most recently spent five seasons under Dennis Franchione at Texas State, and helped jump start a Texas Christian program that began in the Western Athletic Conference when they arrived and became a national power in the Big 12. Prior to their arrival, the Horned Frogs suffered a 1-11 mark in 1997 that turned into a 7-5 record and berth into the Sun Bowl in 1998.
He and the Frogs would go on to play in nine more bowl games in the final 10 seasons he was there.
When Gary Patterson took over the TCU program, Schultz stayed on staff as offensive coordinator and the two built a program that was ranked in the AP and Coaches Top 25 polls in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2008 by year’s end. In 2005 the Frogs were ranked ninth in the country as the Mountain West and Houston Bowl Champions. He was the mastermind that built the foundation for a dominant offense that lasted for more than a decade.
He was key in the maturation of TCU’s all-time leading rusher LaDainian Tomlinson, who racked up 5,263 rushing yards in his career, but it was when Schultz showed up that he excelled. In 1999, Tomlinson ran for 1,850 yards and topped that his senior season on 2,158 – each led the NCAA. Including Tomlinson’s two seasons with more than 1,000 yards, Schultz tutored five 1,000-yard rushers with the Frogs, who only had four in the 100-year history of the program beforehand.
Tomlinson was a Heisman Trophy finalist and the Doak Walker Award winner before being picked fifth overall in the 2001 National Football League draft. He would go on to garner NFL Most Valuable Player honors following the 2006 season with 1,815 rushing yards and an NFL record 28 touchdowns.
As offensive coordinator, he helped groom Andy Dalton into an NFL quarterback. In 2007, Dalton was listed as a freshman All-American after he set the then single-season school records for pass completions (222) and attempts (371) all while notching second in yards (2,459) and fourth in completion percentage (59.8).
He was an instrumental member of a staff that helped the Bobcats make the transition from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) to the Bowl Subdivision (FBS). By their fourth season, the Cats would have been eligible for a bowl twice but were still in the transition period.
While the offensive coordinator at Texas State, he worked with D.J. Hall, a two-time All-American at offensive line. He notched 31 all-conference performers that spans two conferences and an independent status, and at TCU he worked with 44 all-conference selections, also spanning three leagues. In all, he’s been a key to 80 all-conference athletes during his 18 years as a coordinator.
Schultz, who has coached both on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, started his coaching career at his alma mater and Southland Conference rival Sam Houston State in 1979. He served as recruiting coordinator and coached linebackers in one season and flipped to quarterbacks and receivers in the next. He also was a recruiting coordinator and coached receivers and tight ends at UTEP and Kansas State before joining Fred Akers’ staff at Texas in 1985. Following that year, Schultz was an assistant and defensive coordinator at Westwood High School in Round Rock for four years before joining Franchione’s staff at Texas State in 1990 – his first stint at TSU.
At UNM, he helped the Lobos to a WAC Mountain Division Championship and invitation to the Insight.com Bowl, the program’s first bowl berth since 1961. He’s been a part of 11 bowl appearances.
After his time with the Horned Frogs, he spent time as the offensive coordinator at both Big 10 program Illinois and Middle Tennessee State. At Illinois, he coached a rushing attack that again ranked at the top of the nation’s leaderboard (18th) and at MTSU he was invited to play in the GoDaddy.com bowl, only the school’s fifth bowl appearance at the time.
Throughout his career, Schultz has worked with quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, tight ends, secondary and linebackers.
He and his wife, Cindy have three daughters, Taylor, Kendall and Jordan, and he is a 1979 graduate of Sam Houston State.
