Shane Day’s path to an improbable career as an NFL assistant coach has taken him on a remarkable, rewarding ride – from Sears to high school coaching and now, perhaps, to the Super Bowl.
Sometimes even Day himself has a hard time believing the fortuitous circumstances.
“Sometimes I have to pinch myself,” said Day, the man in charge of the Chicago Bears’ quarterbacks who began his coaching career at Auburn Riverside High School in 2001. “For me to have this opportunity … to be fortunate enough to work with great people … has been an unbelievable experience.”
It’s been a whirlwind journey for Day, one that began in Auburn more than nine years ago when the young salesman from Sears met Andrew Sage about an assistant job at the nearby high school. Day, who had an English degree but no coaching experience, liked what he heard but was reluctant to give up his day job. Sage was willing to give him a shot.
“I remember first turning him down, but he talked me into it,” Day said, “Looking back, if I hadn’t taken the job, I wouldn’t be where I am right now.”
What followed was a journeyman’s gradual and unconventional ascension to the NFL.
Day, 36, will be front and center when the Bears face rival Green Bay in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday (noon, Channel 13, 950 AM) with a berth to the Feb. 6 Super Bowl XLV on the line.
“Things are going great. They couldn’t be any better,” Day said. “We’re real excited. We’re playing for the NFC championship. It couldn’t be better.”
Day and the Bears coaching staff have been working nonstop since Monday trying to solve the Green Bay riddle – a familiar opponent with a nasty defense.
“They’re really good, well coached, very disciplined,” Day said of the surging Packers. “It’s going to be a great challenge for us. They’re a very complete defense.”
Day likes a good challenge and beating considerable odds – as a former athlete and emerging coach who has scratched his way to better opportunities.
At Manhattan, Kan., Day played high school baseball. At tiny Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn. he competed as a wide receiver.
After graduating in 1999 from Kansas State University – where his father was a professor – Day followed his fiancée to the Puget Sound. She secured a job in Sears management and Day, after being unemployed for six months, soon found work in sales.
But Day wanted to get back into the game, and ultimately coach, his long-held passion. The opening at Auburn Riverside came up, the only interview he had.
Day spent one season coaching the Ravens’ wide receivers and three overseeing the quarterbacks. He was promoted to offensive coordinator during his final two years.
In his last year at AR, Day worked with sophomore David Paulson, who eventually would grow into an All-Pac-10 tight end at Oregon.
“My high school experience was unbelievable. I wouldn’t trade that for the world,” Day said. “Andrew Sage gave me a chance to learn the game. I was able to grow. A lot of the stuff I learned from him I still use now.”
Day coached by day and worked at a lab at Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center by night. He saved enough money and accrued enough vacation time to explore his coaching career options elsewhere. Determined to gain knowledge, insight and promote his availability, he used his vacation to visit major college football programs throughout the country.
The University of Michigan eventually came calling. Day had become a familiar hand at Ann Arbor, visiting the Wolverines for three consecutive years.
He worked with Mike DeBord at Michigan in 2005-06, serving as assistant to the quarterbacks and as a quality control coach. His other duties included opponent film breakdown and recruiting.
As a grunt, Day paid his dues and waited for the next opportunity.
“It’s such an amazing story,” said Ed Kramer, a coach, colleague and teacher at Kentwood High School who volunteered with the Seahawks for several summers. “It’s amazing how a guy who looks somewhat like ‘Radar’ O’Reilly and has no connections in the NFL or college football can make it in the macho world of the NFL. It’s because he has studied, travelled, wrote letters, worked clinics, went to clinics and studied video.
“Coaches have hired him because they feel he can add something to their staff and program,” Kramer added. “Even though he does not look the part, they can see the value of his football intelligence.”
Day parlayed that early experience to the pros, landing a spot on the San Francisco 49ers staff as a quality control coach. He worked with the offensive staff in game planning and practice preparations, and helped oversee the quarterbacks in 2007, the running backs in 2008 and the offensive line in 2009.
At San Francisco in 2008, Day worked alongside Mike Martz.
That association would bring Day to Chicago. The Bears, who hired Martz as offensive coordinator, later added DeBord to teach the tight ends, former Maple Valley resident and Seahawk Mike Tice to work with the offensive line, and Day to coach the quarterbacks this season.
For Day and the Bears, it has been a season under the sun. Day, who was hand picked by Martz last February, has helped bring more consistency, productivity and polish to Jay Cutler, one of the NFL’s bright young guns.
“It’s been great,” Day said of his relationship with the strong-armed Cutler. “Jay just wants to be the best player he can be. It’s easy. He just goes out there and works his butt off. It’s been a lot of fun working with him.”
Like Sage, Martz has expanded Day’s understanding of the game.
“I’m really fortunate. He’s a great mentor, a great guy to work under, one of the game’s most respected minds,” Day said. “He has taught me so much. I have to pinch myself. He’s just been phenomenal to work for.”
Day hasn’t had time to reflect on his unlikely climb as an NFL assistant coach, but he is indeed thankful for the chance.
“I tell people all the time that I’m grateful for this opportunity,” Day said. “You don’t have the time to reflect on it now. You’re too busy … you just go (and work) each day.
“But occasionally, when I do have the time to look back, I can say it’s really amazing.”
