Sam Shade

Samuel Richard Shade (born June 14, 1973) is an American football coach and former player. He is the head football coach for Alabama A&M University, a position he has held since 2025. He played eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL) from 1995 to 2002 as a safety for the Cincinnati Bengals and the Washington Redskins. Shade played college football at the University of Alabama and was selected in the fourth round of the 1995 NFL draft.

NFL career statistics Legend Bold Career high

Regular season Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Comb Solo Ast Sck Int Yds TD Lng FF FR Yds TD 1995 CIN 16 2 16 14 2 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1996 CIN 12 0 7 5 2 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1997 CIN 16 12 96 81 15 4.0 1 21 0 21 1 1 0 0 1998 CIN 16 15 78 60 18 1.0 3 33 0 32 1 2 55 1 1999 WAS 16 16 115 89 26 1.5 2 7 0 7 0 1 0 0 2000 WAS 16 14 98 83 15 1.0 2 15 0 15 0 4 1 0 2001 WAS 16 15 90 76 14 0.0 2 9 0 9 1 1 0 0 2002 WAS 9 3 28 21 7 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career 117 77 528 429 99 8.5 10 85 0 32 3 9 56 1

Playoffs Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Comb Solo Ast Sck Int Yds TD Lng FF FR Yds TD 1999 WAS 2 2 9 6 3 2.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Career 2 2 9 6 3 2.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

Coaching career Samford Shade was the Special teams and defensive passing game coordinator at Samford, where he helped mentor current NFL defensive backs Corey White, Jaquiski Tartt, and James Bradberry.

Georgia State On December 15, 2016, Shade was added to the staff at Georgia State as the cornerbacks coach.

Cleveland Browns On February 7, 2018, it was announced that Shade had joined the Cleveland Browns' as an assistant special teams coach.

Pinson Valley High School In February 2020, Pinson Valley High School named Shade as the replacement for Patrick Nix. In his first year as head coach, he helped bring the team back to a successful 12–2 season, including the state championship.

Miles On January 26, 2022, Miles College introduced Shade as the head football coach.

Alabama A&M On December 29, 2024, Alabama A&M University hired Shade as the school's 22nd head coach in program history.

Head coaching record College