Shiel Wood - Football Coach - Texas Tech Red Raiders

Shiel Wood

Title:
Defensive Coordinator

Shiel Wood enters his first season as Texas Tech’s defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach, bringing a reputation of immediately improving defenses from previous stops at Troy, Tulane and Houston.

One of the top up-and-coming defensive coaches in the country, Wood boasts 15 years of experience at the Division I level and has been a defensive coordinator each of the past four seasons. Wood arrived at Texas Tech following one season in a similar position at Houston where he helped the Cougars transform into one of the Big 12 Conference's top defenses in 2024.

Wood's defenses have ranked inside the top 35 for total defense in all four seasons since he was first named a co-defensive coordinator at Army in 2021. Since then, he has also made stops as the defensive coordinator at Troy in 2022, Tulane in 2023 and then Houston. He was also the defensive coordinator at Wofford, his alma mater, in 2017.

His defenses helped push Troy to a 12-win season and Sun Belt Conference title in 2022, while Tulane finished with 11 wins and an appearance in the American Championship in 2023. Troy ended that season ranked as high as No. 19 in the Associated Press poll, marking the first time in program history the Trojans had appeared in the final rankings. Army, meanwhile, was an impressive 9-4 overall during his lone season as co-defensive coordinator after a victory over Missouri in the Armed Forces Bowl.

Wood immediately improved a Houston defense that ranked 105th nationally for scoring (31.5) and 112th for total defense (423.9) in the year prior to his arrival, cutting those totals to 22.9 points and 324.8 yards per game in 2024. Houston ended the season ranked 25th nationally and second in the Big 12 for total defense as well as 28th for passing yards allowed after surrendering only 188.8 yards per game through the air, another drastic improvement from the 255.3 yards and 114th ranking prior to his arrival.

Opposing offenses have averaged less than 23.0 points per game against Wood’s defenses since his promotion to play-caller at Army in 2021. Tulane ranked 23rd in the FBS after allowing 20.5 points per game in 2023, while Troy was eighth at only 17.1 points per game in 2022 and Army was 33rd nationally at only 22.3 points a contest. Wood’s units at both Troy and Army ranked in the top 20 nationally for not only scoring defense but also total defense and turnovers forced as well.

Wood has built a reputation for immediately improving defenses, particularly through turnovers. Both his defenses at Troy and Tulane ranked in the top 10 nationally for takeaways with the Trojans finishing eighth in the FBS with 27 turnovers gained, while the Green Wave were third a year later with the same amount. His defenses are averaging 22.3 takeaways per season over the past four seasons as Houston created 19 turnovers in 2024, while Army had 16 during its 2021 campaign.

Wood has tutored 11 players over his career who have earned first team All-Conference honors, including seven the past three seasons alone. That list includes linebacker Carlton Martial, who was the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year under Wood’s direction at Troy in 2022. Martial, a finalist for the Burlsworth Award, snapped the NCAA FBS record for career tackles that season after ranking third in the FBS as a senior with 11.2 tackles per game. Following the season, he earned second team All-America accolades from FOX Sports and Action Network as well as third team honors from Phil Steele Magazine.

Martial’s success came after Wood mentored a pair of All-American linebackers at Army in Andre Carter and Jon Rhattigan. Carter earned third team All-America accolades in 2021 after finishing second in the FBS with 15.5 sacks and fifth with 18.5 tackles for loss. Rhattigan, meanwhile, earned second team All-America honors from USA Today and was finalist for the Bednarik Award, the first in Army history.

Carter and Rhattigan both joined the NFL as undrafted free agents following their careers at Army as Carter is currently a member of the Las Vegas, while Rhattigan has won two Super Bowls thus far in his professional career as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs. Wood added another former pupil to the professional ranks in 2024 as Troy edge rusher Javon Solomon was selected in the fifth round of the NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills.

Wood's tenure at Army began in 2020 as the inside linebackers coach for a Black Knights program that led the country at only 275.3 yards allowed a game. Army also ranked second nationally for scoring defense at only 14.8 points per game as well as red zone defense (.645 conversion rate) and passing yards allowed per game (160.8). The Black Knights, who finished 9-3 overall, were also among the nation’s best against the run, ranking 18th in the FBS after giving up only 114.6 yards per game on the ground against a schedule full of run-heavy offenses.

He has coached both linebackers and safeties during his career and has served as the special teams coordinator twice at both Georgia Tech (2018) and Georgia State (2019). He was part of bowl teams in both of those two stops as Georgia State played in the Arizona Bowl, matching its school record with seven wins in the process, while Georgia Tech was selected for the Quick Lane Bowl.

Wood began his coaching career on the opposite side of the ball, serving as the wide receivers coach at Wofford from 2007-10 before moving over to coach safeties from 2011-16. Wood spent a total of eight seasons as an assistant coach at Wofford, which culminated in him being named the Terriers’ defensive coordinator in 2017. In all, Wofford won four Southern Conference titles and advanced to the FCS playoffs seven times during that span.

As defensive coordinator, Wood directed a unit that led the SoCon in rushing defense (121.7 yards per game) and ranked second in the league and No. 26 in the FCS for total defense at only 326.7 yards per game. Wofford finished 10-3 that season, winning the outright SoCon title with a 7-1 league record before advancing to the FCS quarterfinals where the Terriers fell to eventual national champion North Dakota State.

Wood, a native of Spartanburg, South Carolina, played wide receiver at Wofford from 2001-05 and was the Terriers' leading receiver in 2020 for a team that won the SoCon Championship and advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs.

Wood graduated from Wofford in 2007 with a bachelor's degree in government. He and his wife, Bernadette, are parents to two daughters, Fay and Grace. Bernadette Wood was also a student-athlete at Wofford, competing in soccer.

SHIEL WOOD COACHING HISTORY
2025-present – Texas Tech Defensive Coordinator (Inside Linebackers)
2024 – Houston Defensive Coordinator
2023 – Tulane Defensive Coordinator (Linebackers)
2022 – Troy Defensive Coordinator (Safeties)
2021 – Army Co-Defensive Coordinator (Safeties)
2020 – Army Assistant Coach (Inside Linebackers)
2019 – Georgia State Special Teams Coordinator (Inside Linebackers)
2018 – Georgia Tech Assistant Coach (Safeties/Special Teams)
2017 – Wofford Defensive Coordinator (Safeties/Recruiting Coordinator)
2016 – Wofford Assistant Coach (Safeties/Recruiting Coordinator)
2011-12 – Wofford Assistant Coach (Safeties)
2007-10 – Wofford Assistant Coach (Wide Receivers)
2006 – Woodruff High School (S.C.) High School Assistant Coach

BOWL GAMES AS A COACH (5): 2022 Cure Bowl (Troy); 2021 Armed Forces Bowl (Army); 2020 AutoZone Liberty Bowl (Army); 2019 Arizona Bowl (Georgia State); 2018 Quick Lane Bowl (Georgia Tech).

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS AS A COACH (5): 2022 Sun Belt (Troy); 2017 Southern Conference (Wofford); 2012 Southern Conference (Wofford); 2010 Southern Conference (Wofford); 2007 Southern Conference (Wofford).