Coaching Is the Family Business for Former Michigan QB Turned Indiana OC Nick Sheridan
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Nick Sheridan grew up as a coach's kid not far from Ann Arbor, Mich., and he wouldn't have had it any other way. Being around the game practically his entire life helped him have a high quarterback IQ when he played, so much so that he went from a seventh-string walk-on at Michigan to being the Wolverines' starting quarterback.
His football journey has gone full circle now. It's that quarterback experience at Michigan that's helping him a lot as Indiana's new offensive coordinator, and he'll be in the spotlight in a big way when No. 13 Indiana takes on his alma mater on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Some are saying that this just might be a the biggest football game Indiana has played in a generation. And a Michigan man will be trying to take down Michigan.
It's a moment like this that he's dreamed about his entire life.
"Being a coach's kid, my dad's my hero,'' Sheridan said of his father, Bill Sheridan, who's coached in college and in the NFL for 35 years and is currently coaching at Air Force. "I looked up to him my entire life. I thought what he did was so cool, and that put me on a path to get into coaching. I had a blast as a kid, and I was thankful for that.''
Coaching is definitely the family business. Dad is still toiling away, Nick has a high-profile coordinator's job and Indiana and little brother Mark is the defensive coordinator at Albion College in Michigan.
All that started, way back when, right at the Sheridan kitchen table.
Growing up with the game
Even when they were just kids, having hours-long talks about football weren't uncommon at the Sheridan house in Saline, Mich., which is about eight miles south of Michigan's campus in Ann Arbor.
Mark Sheridan, who's four years younger than Nick, is the youngest of the four kids along with brother Joe and sister Natalie. The age difference didn't matter under their roof, because football was the common bond.
"We learned a lot from our dad about schematics and fundamentals, just from watching him work and talking about football,'' Mark said from his office at Albion. "We'd all sit at the kitchen table and talk football for hours. My dad, he never forced anything on us, but we loved that he was a coach, and we all loved football, too.
"The schematics and things were good, but we really learned HOW to be a coach from him. We saw how he always organized things, with his daily schedule, recruiting, setting up calls. We learned how to do it by watching him do it.''
Nick was just an honorable mention all-conference quarterback in high school, but was invited to walk-on at Michigan just a few days before the start of the 2006 season. That was a big deal in the Sheridan house.
"I was the youngest of the four, so, of course, I looked up to my big brothers when they played. They were both good high school athletes. I was in eighth grade when Nick was a senior and I totally enjoyed watching him play. That was a big deal for me.''
Nick Sheridan literally has seen college football from the bottom up.
"The one thing about my playing career, I sat in a lot of different seats. I was a freshman walk-on and there were 105 guys that went to fall camp and I was probably No. 105,'' Sheridan said. "I was seventh on the depth chart at quarterback, I was on scout special teams, scout kickoff, scout punt, and I was playing quarterback.''
It was nothing like he ever expected that first year.
"I remember after the first padded practice, my good friend Mark Moundros, who ended up being a captain, we were walk-ons together and he was a wonderful guy,'' he said. "He broke his foot in the first practice during an agility drill, and he was the scout team running back, so I became the scout team fullback. I remember calling my dad, and he asked me how it was going. I told him it was going great, but if I was going to play fullback, I was going to need a cowboy collar and change my face mask.
"Guys who played in the NFL, they were shortening my neck on two-back power.''
That experience has proved to be invaluable, and it's very relatable now in his new role at Indiana.
"The point is I've sat in a lot of different seats,'' he said. "I've won competitions, and I've lost competitions. I've been benched, I've been put in off the sideline. At the time it might have not been the most pleasant, and it was tough at times, but I think it prepared me to be able to relate to the players.''
Nick Sheridan gets sacked by Penn State's Josh Hull during Michigan's 46-17 loss to the Nittany Lions. (James Lang/USA Today Sports)
Playing at Michigan, to mixed reviews
Sheridan was at Michigan from 2006 to 2009 and he worked his way up the depth chart in rapid fashion, and before long, he was awarded a scholarship and became the starting quarterback for a time.
He played in 12 total games from 2007 to 2009, making four starts. He was 70-for-148 passing for 701 yards, with two touchdown passes and six interceptions. He never played against Indiana. He shares his successes—and failures—often with Indiana's current quarterbacks.
"Coach Sheridan is hilarious. He talks to us about being a walk-on at Michigan and how he worked his way up and actually got playing time,'' Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr. said. 'He jokes around with us, saying he used to throw the ball to the other team a lot.
'I haven't seen him play, but I know he was a smart quarterback. He talks about the hardest time he got hit; I'm pretty sure it's on YouTube. (It is.)
"He jokes about it and says 'don't be like that,' Coach Sheridan, he's a great guy and a great coach, and we love him.''
- Since you're curious, here's the YouTube clip of him getting walloped by an Ohio State defender.
Quarterback-to-coach experience
Sheridan said that his time at quarterback at Michigan is invaluable now, because he can relate to his current quarterbacks, and they can do the same.
"Being a quarterback in the conference, It does help me relate to the players,'' Sheridan said. "I've been in most of the stadiums. I haven't performed nearly as well as some of our guys have. I can let them know what not to do sometimes, or how to handle some adversity. Hopefully the players feel that I know what they're going through, and I know how to push through it.
"I've been lucky. Football is a wonderful sport, and coaching is a great profession. I'm very fortunate and I'm very lucky. I love coaching here at Indiana for the people I get to work with. I feel very, very blessed.''
Indiana offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan (left) chats with his quarterbacks during a recent practice. (Photo courtesy IU Athletics)
Indiana coach Tom Allen said that Sheridan's quarterback experience helped make him the type of coach that he is now. As a coordinator, he still sees the game as a quarterback, too.
That's a perfect combination.
"Playing the position in this conference, I think that's a major benefit, just knowing what a quarterback goes through,'' Allen said. "He started in this league and prepared every week. I think those things are very, very valuable to have, especially when you're young.
'Being a quarterback and playing that position and coaching that position, it gives our quarterbacks a lot of confidence because he's walked a mile in their shoes. When you're playing that position, it's just a different understanding on how that position drives that whole side of the ball. His ability to relate and handle all of that is really good.
Sheridan also has a steady demeanor, never getting too high or too low emotionally. That means a lot to Allen, too.
"The one thing I really appreciate about Nick is that he's always steady,'' Allen said. "I'm not that way. I'm pretty high strung as you know, and he's a good compliment for me in that regard. No matter what, he stays there and doesn't get flustered, even when I'm getting on him.
"He stays locked in and does a good job of keeping a calmness to the staff, which is good. You need that, and the quarterbacks have to have that. That helps the communication piece.''
Sheridan has been at Indiana for four years now, and he's coached quarterbacks and tight ends before getting promoted last winter when Kalen DeBoer left for the head coaching job at Fresno State.
Allen promoted from within because he felt Sheridan was ready, but he also didn't want to change much because Indiana's offensive staff has been together for a while, and they've done a lot of good things.
"That staff has been together a lot, ever since I've been a head coach here, going on our fourth season together,'' Allen said. "(Offensive line) Coach (Darren) Hiller has been here since the beginning, Running backs Coach (Mike)Hart and (wide receivers) Coach (Grant) Heard, they all have a lot of continuity with Nick.
"That helps. They know each other well, and how each other thinks. That was a big reason why I made the decision I made to promote him and give him this opportunity.''
Total loyalty to Team Sheridan
Come Saturday, there is no issue with any Michigan or Indiana loyalties. The Sheridan family is all about the Hoosiers now. They learn a long time how to swap out jerseys.
"The fact that he's playing against Michigan really doesn't matter anymore. I'm a Sheridan fan,'' Mark Sheridan said. "We got used to switching loyalties at the snap of a finger with my dad. One stretch, he coached at Michigan State, Notre Dame and Michigan back-to-back, so we know all about changing loyalties.
"Me personally, I love Indiana. I've been around that staff a lot since Nick got there, and I'm really happy for them. Coach Allen is such a great guy, and that entire staff is just full of quality people. I was so happy for all of them after that Penn State game, because they've been close the past few years in getting some of those big wins.''
Mark Sheridan, Nick's younger brother.
Little brother is proud of all that big brother is accomplishing. And talking to Mark on the phone is a bit eerie, because his voice sounds just like Nick's.
There's plenty of brotherly love there, especially considering how Nick's college experience started.
"When he walked on at Michigan, he was like the seventh-string quarterback, and it was a testament to the fortitude he had to just keep working and moving his way up to finally playing for them,'' the 28-year-old said. 'He's always been about working hard and focusing on the task at hand. That mindset fits really well for him now with this job. He's got the perfect temperament for it.
"He's been through it all as a player, so I think that helps when it comes to relating to his current players. He knows what they are going through, and they know that he's been there, too.''
Both young coaches are busy, but they still find time for each other.
"Nick and I talk once a week or so,'' Mark said. "He's super busy, and I get that. We're not playing right now, not until the spring, but I'm busy, too. We always text on Saturday morning, wishing him well and that kind of stuff.''
Mark admits he's more of a fan than a coach when it comes to watching Nick's Indiana games.
"I watch his games more as a brother than a coach, to be honest with you,'' Mark said. "That Penn State game, I was literally on the end of my seat screaming. I was so happy for him that the offense really put it together in the fourth quarter and overtime.
"When it ended, I had to FaceTime with my mom to make sure she was OK. She was so excited, too.''
The two coordinators who work on opposite sides of the ball are always kicking around ideas.
"When we're together, we talk offense and defense a lot,'' Mark said. "I'll tell him about looks that are tough to defend, and he'll talk about looks that are tough to move the football against. Routes, formations, coverages, those kind of things. It's always fun.''
And for Team Sheridan, they'll all be watching on Saturday at Noon ET. It's the biggest football day in the Sheridan family for a while.
"I'll be watching on TV,'' he said. "We've got a big recruiting weekend here, so I can't get down there. But I'll be rooting hard. We all will.
"We'll all be rooting super hard for the Hoosiers. It's going to be a very special day, and I'm sure my brother is going to do a great job.''
It's certainly going to be a magical moment on Saturday when he calls down that first play against alma mater. Indiana has lost 24 straight games to Michigan, last winning in 1987, a few months BEFORE Nick Sheridan was born.
But come game time on Saturday, he'll be ready.
Nick Sheridan was born for this. And raised for it, too.
