In many cases, football runs in the family. The Bosas, Mannings and McCaffreys are just a few of the families with generations of relatives on the gridiron.

The family bond often extends to the sidelines. Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick had his son Steve on his staff in Foxborough, and San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is the son of legendary Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan.

While the 49ers are out and Belichick is now the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels, there’s an old coach making his playoff debut as defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams this weekend: Chris Shula.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Shula family.

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Is Chris Shula related to Don Shula?

Chris Shula, the Rams’ first-year defensive coordinator, is the grandson of Hall of Fame Super Bowl-winning head coach Don Shula.

Chris played college football as a linebacker at Miami of Ohio from 2004 to 2008, where he was a teammate of current Rams head coach Sean McVay. After three different college coaching jobs, Chris entered the NFL in 2015 as a defensive quality control coach for the San Diego Chargers.

He joined the Rams in 2017 as an assistant linebackers coach and reconnected with his old college teammate. When the Rams won Super Bowl LVI, Chris was promoted to linebackers coach. The following year he became passing game coordinator and defensive coach. Last season he was the pass rush coordinator and linebackers coach.

When former Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris accepted the Atlanta Falcons head coaching position last offseason, Shula was promoted. Despite the loss of future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald, Shula kept the Rams in the middle of the pack defensively, enough to help them secure an NFC West title and a playoff spot.

His grandfather, Don Shula, coached the Baltimore Colts from 1963 to 1969 and won the AP NFL Coach of the Year award three times during his tenure. In 1968, he led the Colts to a 13-1 record and a win in the NFL Championship Game. In 1970, Shula was hired as head coach of the Miami Dolphins, where he remained for the next 26 seasons.

During his time with the Dolphins, Shula only had two losing seasons. He led the Dolphins to 11 division titles, five AFC championships and two consecutive Super Bowls in 1972 and 1973. His Super Bowl 7 victory capped off the only undefeated season in NFL history as Miami finished the 1972 season with a perfect 17-0 record. That year, he won his fourth NFL AP Coach of the Year Award, the most in NFL history.

He also holds a regular-season and postseason record of 347-173-6.

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Don had two sons who also coached in the NFL. Dave Shula also coached in the NFL. From 1992 to 1996 he was head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals. He was somewhat unsuccessful, posting a 19-52 record in the four and a half years he spent with the Bengals. He was infamously hired over Bill Cowher, who then took the job with the Pittsburgh Steelers and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020.

Don’s other son, Mike Shula, is currently the offensive coordinator at the University of South Carolina. He was the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1996 to 1999 before accepting the head coaching position at the University of Alabama from 2003 to 2006. Mike returned to the NFL and served as offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers from 2013 to 2017. He was the offensive coordinator of the New York Giants from 2018 to 2019.

So, along with Chris, that’s four different Shulas who have served as coordinators or head coaches in the NFL.