Mike Mularkey Michael Rene Mularkey ( born November 19 , 1961 ) is an American professional football coach . He played college football for the University of Florida , and thereafter , he played 9 seasons in the NFL as a tight end for the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He has served as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars , Buffalo Bills , the offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers , Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons and the tight end s coach for the Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL . Early years . Mularkey was born in Miami , Florida . He attended Northeast High School in Oakland Park , Florida , and played quarterback for the Northeast Hurricanes high school football team . College career . Mularkey attended the University of Florida in Gainesville , Florida , where he played tight end for coach Charley Pell ' s Florida Gators football team from 1980 to 1982 . Professional career . In 1983 , Mularkey was a ninth - round draft pick for the San Francisco 49ers , but was cut before appearing in game . He went on to play with the Minnesota Vikings until the conclusion of the 1988 season . In 1989 , he signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a free agent for the final three years of his playing career . In his nine NFL seasons , Mularkey played in 114 regular season games , started forty - six of them , and caught 102 passes for 1 , 222 yards and nine touchdowns . Coaching career . Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Mularkey started his coaching career in 1994 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a Quality Control coach for both the offense and defense . In 1995 he was promoted to Tight End Coach and held the position for one season . Pittsburgh Steelers . Mularkey was hired as the Pittsburgh Steelers tight ends coach in 1996 and held the position until the conclusion of the 2000 season , when he replaced Kevin Gilbride as the team ' s offensive coordinator . He has a reputation for being an offense - oriented head coach with a penchant for trick plays . His skill for creating special packages to utilize multi - dimensional players such as Hines Ward and Antwaan Randle El earned him the nickname " Inspector Gadget " . Even with his creative imagination , his philosophy of being the most physical punishing offense helped the Steelers average 10 + wins a year during his 3 years as offensive coordinator . Buffalo Bills . In 2004 , Mularkey left the Steelers and was hired by the Buffalo Bills to succeed Gregg Williams as the team ' s head coach . Mularkey started out his first campaign as Bills head coach with a record of 0 – 4 . He rallied his team to a 9 – 7 record by the end of the season , however , sparked by a six - game winning streak during which the Bills scored more points than in any other similar stretch in franchise history . Overall they were 7th in the league in total offense . This has been their last winning season to date . His second season in Buffalo was far less successful . Dogged by a quarterback controversy between J . P . Losman and Kelly Holcomb and a series of defensive personnel problems , Mularkey led the team to a 5 – 11 finish and a sixth consecutive year out of the playoffs - the longest such active streak in the AFC . Mularkey ' s offensive schemes continued to be touted by then general manager Tom Donahoe , despite the lack of production , finishing 24th in total offense . On January 12 , 2006 , Mularkey resigned as head coach of the Bills , citing a disagreement in the direction of the organization , which had recently hired new management including ex - coach Marv Levy . Miami Dolphins . On January 22 , 2006 , Mularkey was hired to be the Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator . As the offensive coordinator under Miami ' s coach , Nick Saban , Mularkey had an unsuccessful season with injuries to his first string quarterback , Daunte Culpepper , and running back , Ronnie Brown . The Dolphins only scored 16 . 3 points per game , ranking 29th in the NFL . Following the season , it was announced Saban had resigned as Dolphins head coach and he accepted the position of head coach of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide on January 3 , 2007 . Upon the hiring of former San Diego Chargers offensive coordinator Cam Cameron as Dolphins head coach on January 19 , 2007 , it was announced that Mularkey would no longer serve as offensive coordinator but would remain with the team in another capacity . On March 15 , 2007 it was officially announced that Cameron himself would call the offensive plays in 2007 , leaving Mularkey to serve as tight ends coach . The 2007 Dolphins finished with a record of 1 - 15 , and on January 3 , 2008 , it was announced that Mularkey was let go from his tight ends coach position , as were all other coaches for the Miami Dolphins . Atlanta Falcons . On January 25 , 2008 it was announced that he would become the next offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons . In his first season at Atlanta , Mularkey ' s offense rushed for 152 . 5 rushing yards per game , second most in the league . The Falcons also finished 10th in the NFL in scoring ( up from 29th the previous year ) with 24 . 4 points per game , and 6th in yards with 361 . 2 per game . After the 2010 season , Mularkey interviewed with multiple NFL teams for their head coaching vacancies for 2011 . Jacksonville Jaguars . On January 11 , 2012 , Mularkey accepted the head coaching job for the Jacksonville Jaguars , making him the third full time head coach of the franchise . His first win came in Week 3 of the 2012 season against the Indianapolis Colts . On January 10 , 2013 , the Jacksonville Jaguars announced the firing of Mike Mularkey after only one season . He had lead the team to a dismal 2 - 14 record . It was the first move of the new general manager , Dave Caldwell , who began his tenure earlier that week . Mularkey had two years remaining on a three - year contract . Personal . Mularkey is married to Elizabeth " Betsy " Conant Mularkey , who is also a University of Florida alumna . The Mularkeys have two sons , Patrick and Shane . Patrick worked as a scouting assistant for the Jaguars for the two seasons prior to his father being hired as head coach . In January 2012 , Patrick was named an assistant strength and conditioning coach for the team . In February 2012 , Shane was among the three former University of North Carolina athletes arrested on cocaine possession . He had played in all 13 games for the Tar Heels in 2009 , but left the team after the 2010 season . During his time as an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , Mularkey was a radio spokesman for " For God ' s Sake " , a Pinellas Park based Christian book store owned by Marie Gonsalves .