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Mike Mularkey begins his second season as a member of the Dolphins coaching staff in 2007. He owns and impressive NFL résumé, and is one of several members of the offensive staff with experience as a coordinator or head coach in the NFL. Before joining the Dolphins in 2006, Mularkey had spent the previous two seasons (2004-05) as head coach with the Buffalo Bills.
In Mularkey’s two years in Buffalo, the team posted a composite record of 14-18, including a 9-7 mark in his first season there as the Bills reeled off wins in nine of their final 12 games.
Prior to taking over the helm with the Bills, Mularkey spent the previous eight seasons (1996-2003) on the staff of the Pittsburgh Steelers, including the final three as offensive coordinator. Under Mularkey’s guidance, Pittsburgh finished third and fifth, respectively, in the NFL in total offense in his first two years in the post, and led the league in rushing offense (173.4 ypg) in 2001. Also that year, quarterback Kordell Stewart threw for 3,109 yards and was selected to the AFC Pro Bowl squad. The Steelers went 13-3 in 2001, captured the AFC Central Division title and played in the AFC Championship game. In 2002, Mularkey oversaw the resurgence of quarterback Tommy Maddox, who, after having not played in the NFL from 1996-2000, completed 234 of 377 passes for 2,836 yards with 20 touchdowns and 16 interceptions and was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Maddox’s 62.1 percent completion mark that year was a franchise single-season record at the time.
Prior to being elevated to offensive coordinator, Mularkey spent his first five years in Pittsburgh as the team’s tight ends coach. During that time, he oversaw the development of Mark Bruener, who was regarded as one of the premier run-blocking tight ends over this stretch. In Mularkey’s five years as the Steelers’ tight ends coach, Jerome Bettis shattered the 1,000-yard rushing plateau each time and the Steelers as a team placed in the top ten in the NFL in rushing offense every year, including a No. 2 finish in 1996 and a No. 1 ranking in 1997.
Mularkey got his start in the NFL coaching ranks as a quality control coach with Tampa Bay in 1994. He was promoted to tight ends coach with the Bucs the following year, and in his lone season in that post, tight end Jackie Harris caught a team-high 62 passes for 751 yards, one of only three tight ends in that teams’ history to top the club’s receiving chart.
Mularkey was a ninth-round draft choice of the San Francisco 49ers in 1983. He was picked up off waivers by Minnesota in training camp that year and went on to play the next six seasons with the Vikings. He joined Pittsburgh as a Plan B free agent in 1989 and played three years with the Steelers. His career totals consist of 114 games played, during which time he tallied 102 receptions for 1,222 yards and nine touchdowns. He had his most productive season in 1990 when he caught 32 passes for 365 yards and three touchdowns. Following his playing career, he served as offensive line coach at Concordia College in 1993.
A Florida native, Mularkey lettered three years at the University of Florida (1980-82). Prior to that, he attended Northeast High School in Ft. Lauderdale, where he played quarterback. He and his wife, Betsy, have two sons, Patrick and Shane. | 