John Shannon Promoted To Offensive Coordinator
2/18/2005 12:00:00 PM | Football
Feb. 18, 2005
Toledo, OH - Receivers coach John Shannon has been promoted to the position of offensive coordinator, Head Coach Tom Amstutz announced today. Shannon replaces Rob Spence, who took the offensive coordinator position at Clemson last month after four years at Toledo.
"I'm excited about the promotion and a chance to work with Coach Amstutz and continue the success that he has had these past four years," said Shannon. "We'll make adjustments if they are needed, but we plan on keeping the same offensive principles and continue to work and improve from there."
Said Amstutz, "John has been an integral part of our staff for the past two seasons as the receivers coach, so it's a great advantage for our offense knowing we will continue to use the same fundamental system we have in the past."
Shannon's two seasons as receivers coach were two of the most productive in UT history. Last season, Rocket receivers caught a 23.7 passes per game, the second-most in school history, and had 28 touchdown receptions. Senior Lance Moore led UT with 90 receptions and a school-record 14 touchdowns. Moore was named first-team All-MAC and earned honorable mention All-America honors from SportsIllustrated.com.
In 2003, UT receivers averaged a school-record 24.8 receptions. Moore led the nation and tied the MAC record with 103 receptions. Steve Odom caught 62 passes and came up one vote short of being named MAC Freshman of the Year.
Before coming to UT in 2003, Shannon had been an assistant coach for 27 years, 18 of them as an offensive or defensive coordinator. His most recent stint prior to Toledo was with Troy, where he was the offensive coordinator in 2001 and 2002. He was also offensive coordinator at Jackson State (1994-2000), Pacific (1989-91), passing game coordinator at Richmond (1984-88), offensive coordinator at Morehead State (1982-83) and wide receivers coach at Maryland (1992-93).
Shannon received two prestigious awards during his stint at Jackson State. In 1999, he received the Division I-AA Offensive Coordinator of the Year by the College Football Association of America. In 2000, he received the I-AA Assistant Coach of the Year Award by the American Football Coaches Association following a terrific 1999 season. The Tigers finished third in the nation in total offense that season, piling up more than 500 yards of offense per game. The Tigers posted a 45-11 record over Shannon's final five seasons at Jackson State, the best mark in Division I-AA.
A 1976 graduate of Eastern Illinois, Shannon played four seasons for the Panthers as a defensive back from 1972-75. He began his coaching career in 1977 as a tight ends coach at Western Kentucky, where he also earned his master's degree in 1978.
Shannon, a native of Bowling Green, KY, has 28 years of experience in college coaching, Shannon and his wife, Sally, have three sons, Justin (24), Benjamin (23) and Colby (20).
Amstutz said that a search to replace Shannon's receivers coach position is already underway. He added that the search to replace Lou West as defensive coordinator should be completed very soon. West left UT after four years to become the head coach at Indiana State.
