Mike Solari (born January 16, 1955) is an American football coach and former player. Solari has previously worked for five other National Football League (NFL) teams, including a stint as offensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs from 2006 to 2007. He played collegiately as an offensive lineman at San Diego State University.
| Dallas Cowboys | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Offensive line coach |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | January 16, 1955 Daly City, California, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school: | El Camino (South San Francisco, California) |
| College: | San Diego State |
| Career history | |
| As a coach: | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Record at Pro Football Reference | |
Playing career
editSolari got his start as playing both ways at El Camino High School in South San Francisco, California (Class of 1973), where he was a standout, particularly on the offensive side of the ball (tackle). His next stop was as an offensive lineman at College of San Mateo. He then moved onto San Diego State, where his teammates included two other JC transfers, future NFL head coaches Herman Edwards and John Fox.
Coaching career
editAfter SDSU, Solari coached at the high school level in Southern California, for the Mission Bay Pirates in the Pacific Beach sector of San Diego, and as a wrestling and assistant track coach at Orange Glen High School in 1978–79. Next he began his college coaching career at nearby MiraCosta College, a community college in Oceanside. He then went to United States International University (USIU) as an assistant football coach on Tom Walsh's staff.
Solari spent time at Boise State, Cincinnati, Alabama, Kansas and Pittsburgh as assistant football coach.
He was with the Dallas Cowboys as assistant offensive line coach and special teams coach.
Solari joined the San Francisco 49ers in 1992 as tight ends coach and assistant offensive line coach. There he won a Super Bowl ring as a member of 1994 49ers coaching staff.
In 1997, he joined the Kansas City Chiefs as their O-line coach. And for many years, tutored some of the best lineman in the NFL, including Pro Football Hall of Famers Will Shields and Willie Roaf. Upon the retirement of Dick Vermeil and the signing of incumbent OC Al Saunders by Washington, Solari was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2006. After the conclusion of the 2007 season, Solari was fired by the Chiefs following a 4–12 season and was replaced by former Georgia Tech head coach and long-time NFL coach Chan Gailey.[1]
Solari joined the Seahawks staff in 2008, he changed its offensive line scheme to more zone blocking.[2]
On January 21, 2010, Solari was named offensive line coach for the San Francisco 49ers.[3]
Solari joined the Packers staff as an offensive line assistant following the 2014 season.[4]
On January 21, 2016, Solari was hired by the New York Giants as offensive line coach.[5]
On January 15, 2018, Solari was rehired by the Seattle Seahawks as their offensive line coach.[6]
On February 5, 2023, Solari returned to the Dallas Cowboys, being hired as the team's offensive line coach.[7]
Personal life
editHe is married to wife Patti and has three children; Tamara, Stephanie and Michael.
References
edit- ^ "Chiefs fire offensive coordinator, 3 other coaches". Daily News. January 2, 2008.
- ^ "Seahawks hire former Chief Solari as offensive line coach". ESPN. January 25, 2008.
- ^ "Solari Named 49ers Offensive Line Coach". 49ers.com. January 21, 2010. Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
- ^ "Packers to add veteran 49ers position coach Mike Solari". FOX sports. February 9, 2015.
- ^ "Mike Solari to join Giants as offensive line coach". ProFootballTalk. January 21, 2016.
- ^ Garafolo, Mike (January 15, 2018). "One more assistant coach about to return to Seattle: Mike Solari will once again be the team's OL coach, replacing Tom Cable, source says. Solari is the latest Ben McAdoo NYG assistant to find work elsewhere". @mikegarafolo. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
- ^ "Cowboys hire Mike Solari as OL coach, interview 2 candidate soft vacant OC position". dallasnews.com. Retrieved January 3, 2024.