By Chuck Gordon

With Shannon Dawson '01, Joe Reich saw the green shoots of a potentially successful coaching career 25 years ago. In 2001, Reich was in his first season as Wingate's head coach, and Dawson, a redshirt senior, was the Bulldogs' top receiver.

"He's always had a really good football mind and a really good feel for the game," says Reich, who coached Wingate until 2023 and is now the University's athletic director.

Reich employed Dawson as an assistant coach during the 2022 season, jumpstarting a career that has gone from strength to strength. Tonight, Dawson coaches in his most important game ever when the University of Miami Hurricanes take on Indiana University in the College Football Playoff final in Miami Gardens, Fla.

As the team's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Dawson has spent the past three years turning the Hurricanes into a scoring machine. During the 2024 season they led the Football Bowl Subdivision, the top division in the college game, in total offense (537.2 yards per game) and points (43.9 points per game), and their quarterback, Cam Ward, won the Heisman Trophy (not to mention became the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft).

This year, Dawson has had to shift slightly, employing as his quarterback former University of Georgia signal-caller Carson Beck, a potent passer and experienced leader who has less mobility than Ward. The Hurricanes' offensive numbers have been less gaudy than in 2024 (400 yards and 31 points per game), but the results speak for themselves (13-2 records, CFP-title-game appearance).

For Reich, the shift shows how adaptable Dawson has become. "There's no ego," says Reich, who has kept in close contact with Dawson over the years. "You do what you've got to do to win games."

Dawson is a disciple of not only Reich but also of Hal Mumme, the former University of Kentucky head coach who developed the "Air Raid" offense in the 1980s and '90s. Mumme's offenses featured a quarterback mostly operating out of the shotgun (a few steps back from the center), who threw to a host of receivers, often for short-yardage plays that added up to big drives and lots of points. The offense was extremely pass-heavy and put up big offensive numbers.

Shannon Dawson calls plays in front of tens of thousands every week. Photos courtesy of the University of Miami.

Dawson has taken the principles of the Air Raid and modified them over the years to fit his personnel. He has served as offensive coordinator for six of the nine schools where he's coached since leaving Wingate (including five Div. I teams), using primarily the Air Raid or at least parts of it to fit his players.

"In the past, I would say that's where some other Air Raid guys differ from Shannon," Reich says. "There are Air Raid guys who all they want to do is score points. … He showed this year that he could adapt to what the team needed. It's not about breaking school records. It's about winning games."

After transferring to Wingate for the 2000 season, Dawson started four games at quarterback but was then moved to wide receiver, where he caught 31 passes for 410 yards and a touchdown.

He had a year of eligibility left after graduating in 2001, but he seriously considered leaving the playing field.

"My first year was not really successful," Dawson told Wingate athletic communications in 2011. "I truly wasn't planning on going back for my senior year, because I graduated. They hired Coach Reich and I talked to him on the phone. I just liked the guy. I didn't know the guy, but I just liked him and he basically convinced me to come back my senior year - he needed leadership and he needed seniors."

Dawson led the 2001 Bulldogs in receiving with 43 catches for 584 yards and seven touchdowns.

An article about Dawson published last week on ESPN.com talked about his confidence, even as a young assistant coach. A year after leaving Wingate, Dawson was in charge of charting plays for Mumme at Southeast Louisiana University, which was reviving its football program. With the team down 17-16 with six minutes to go in their opener, at home in front of an overflow crowd, Dawson sticks his head in the huddle and suggests a play.

Mumme was about to give Dawson a dressing down when he realized that his young assistant, making a paltry $500 a month, was simply being perceptive. He called the play Dawson suggested. "We called it, hit our little slot receiver, Choni Francis, for a touchdown and won the game, thanks to the courage of Shannon Dawson," Mumme told ESPN.

"The story about him making suggestions doesn't surprise me at all," Reich says. "I think we all felt like he was going to be a good coach. He just had a good mind for the game."

Reich feels certain that Dawson will eventually get his shot as a head coach, and will be ready. He knows his former player is an offensive whiz, but he sees the personal side of him that is required to succeed as a head coach.

"I heard Mike Krzyzewski say one time that the hardest opponent he ever faced was human nature," Reich says. "You see it a little as a coordinator, but really you see it all the time as a head coach. You have to handle the people problems, and you have to be able to handle your people. I think he has that ability."

Jan. 19, 2026