One of Griz football’s favorite sons landed a new head coaching job in neighboring North Dakota.
Shann Schillinger, a two-time All-American safety for the Montana Griz football team in the late 2000s, has been hired as the head football coach at the University of Mary, according to multiple reports out of Bismarck, North Dakota. A representative for Schillinger confirmed the hiring to Skyline Sports.
On Friday, the school said in a press release that the new coach will be introduced at an on-campus event Monday morning. A University of Mary athletic department official declined comment on the hire, the Bismarck Tribune reported.
During one of the most esteemed high school football careers in Montana history in which he starred for his uncle Don, Shann Schillinger led Baker to a 49-1 record and four straight Class B state titles. He played for the Griz from 2005 through 2009, culminating in consecutive first-team All-Big Sky selections while UM played in consecutive national title games.
Schillinger was a sixth-round selection in the 2010 NFL Draft by Atlanta and played four seasons with the Falcons before spending 2013 with the Tennessee Titans. After retiring from the NFL, Schillinger entered the coaching ranks. He spent stints at Dickinson State (2014) and Nebraska (2015) before returning to his alma mater, where he served as the secondary coach and a special teams assistant for the Griz from 2016 until 2021.
Ahead of last season, Schillinger took a job as a defensive analyst at Mississippi State but resigned from that job before the season. Last December, Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach died suddenly of a heart attack.
Schillinger, who’s hometown is about 200 miles from Bismarck, takes over a Mary program that is already in the midst of spring football. Craig Bagnell won nine games in four seasons as Mary’s head coach before leaving to coach wide receivers at South Dakota in the off-season.
The University of Mary football team started spring practice on March 18 under the direction of interim head coach and defensive coordinator Ben Davis.
