A Great Man, and a Great Triple Option Coach, is Coming to Jacksonville University (FCS)

December 5, 2015

Ian Shields is now the new Head Football Coach at Jacksonville University (FCS).

Ian comes to Jacksonville from Lenoir-Rhyne.  The 2014 Lenoir-Rhyne squad had seven players earn All-American honors, 18 players garner all-conference accolades and finished ranked the year ranked No. 8 in the nation with an 11-1 record. Shields was named the SAC Coach of the Year in his first season with the Bears as well. In both of Shields’ seasons as mentor, the Bears led the country in rushing offense and had an overall record of 17-6.

Shields came to L-R after spending the past five seasons as offensive coordinator at Army (2009-13).  In addition, Shields assumed the role as Associate Head Coach at Army just prior to the 2013 season.

In 2013, Shields helped guide the Black Knights to the third-best rushing offense in NCAA Division I at 309.8 yards per game.

Under Shields, Army also led the nation in rushing in both 2011 (346.5 ypg) and 2012 (a school-record 369.8 ypg) using the triple-option offense. 

The 2011 team was the first to crack the 4,000-yard mark on the ground (4,158) while the 2012 squad was the first in program history to cross the 5,000-yard mark in total offense (5,235).

In addition, Shields mentored former quarterback Trent Steelman (2009-12) to numerous school records including rushing attempts (772), rushing yards (3,320) and 100-yard rushing games (12) by a quarterback.  Steelman also set the school record for rushing touchdowns (45) and became the first Black Knight to both rush and pass for over 2,000 yards.

Shields was also part of a staff that led Army to its first bowl victory in 25 years in 2009, a win over SMU in the Armed Forces Bowl.

Prior to Army, Shields served one year as offensive coordinator and assistant head coach in 2008 at California Polytechnic University and led the squad to the nation’s-best scoring offense (44.6 ppg) and total offense (490 ypg).  Cal Poly also won the Great West Conference Championship, earned a No. 8 national ranking and produced two First-Team All-Americans.

Shields was also the Head Coach at Eastern Oregon (2006-07), where led the squad to a winning campaign in 2006 after being picked to finish last and coached six all-conference players and three NAIA Academic All-Americans.

Shields’ other coaching stints included offensive coordinator at Cal Poly (2004-05), Bucknell (2003), Saint Mary’s (2000-02) and Eastern Oregon (1997-99).

Shields, a 1994 graduate of Oregon State in speech communication, was a three-year letterwinner (1991-93) as a quarterback for the Beavers and served as the team’s starter in 1993.  Shields earned his master’s in interdisciplinary studies from Oregon State in 1996, where he also started his coaching career as a graduate assistant.

Shields and his wife, Norma, a former collegiate volleyball player at Eastern Oregon, are the proud parents of three sons:  Beau, Jonah and Jordan.

Two State Semifinalists, A State Finalist, and a State Champion in Texas have Come out of Dr. Cella’s Triple Option Football System In Four Years

Triple Option Football Academy Owner, Dr. Lou Cella, is a Sports Performance Specialist, and a 20-year coaching veteran of the college and high school level.