New Alabama A&M coach Sam Shade is ready to deliver on the already lofty expectations that he can work his magic as a program builder.
Shade is a winner at every level, from high school to college, having led Pinson Valley High School to a State Championship in 2020 and Miles College to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) crown in 2024.
“We did a national search to find our next head coach,” AAMU athletic director Paul Bryant said during Monday’s introductory press conference. “Coach Shade checked off all the boxes, including winning a SIAC championship at Miles College. He is a winner at all levels, a champion as a player and as a coach.”
Over the past three seasons at Miles, Shade compiled an 18-15 overall record and a 15-7 mark inside the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. In addition, his 2024 team won the conference title and reached the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.
In 2023, the Golden Bears finished 7-3 overall, 6-2 in the SIAC. The season included the program’s first win over Division I FCS opponent Alabama State and a 9.2 average margin of victory. It was a marked improvement over his first season in Fairfield, where Miles went 1-9 overall and 1-5 in the SIAC Western Division.
“I am excited for this opportunity and to be here on The Hill,” said Shade. “Every day is a great day to be an Alabama A&M Bulldog, and I am so proud to be one. The chase is on. Let’s go hunt and go Bulldogs.”
Shade came to Miles after spending two years as head football coach at Pinson Valley High School, where he won an Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 6A state championship in his first season in 2020.
Prior to coaching, Shade played eight years in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals (1995-98) and Washington Redskins (1999-02). He was the Bengals’ leading tackler in 1997 while ranking second on the team in 1998, and then he led the Redskins in 1999.
Shade played collegiately at Alabama, where he was a member of the Crimson Tide’s 1992 national championship team and was named a team captain as a senior in 1994. The Bengals selected him in the fourth round of the 1995 NFL Draft.
Courtesy: Alabama A&M Athletics
