DeShawn Shead (pronounced SHED) joined the Miami Dolphins as assistant defensive backs coach in 2024.
The 2024 season marks Shead's 12th year of NFL experience including eight as a player and four as a coach, working primarily with the defensive backs. Shead won Super Bowl XLVIII as a player with Seattle in 2013.
Shead began his coaching career in Seattle, where he spent three seasons (2021-23) working with the defensive backs. He first joined the staff as defensive assistant/defensive backs coach in 2021 and was named assistant defensive backs coach in 2022. He was promoted to assistant defensive backs/cornerbacks coach in 2023. In those three seasons, he's worked with five Pro Bowl selections, including two that were Pro Bowl picks as rookies.
In 2023, Shead helped coach cornerback Devon Witherspoon, Seattle's first-round draft pick, who tied for fifth in the NFL with 16 passes defensed his rookie season. In Week 4 at the N.Y. Giants, Witherspoon recorded seven tackles, 2.0 sacks and a 97-yard pick six, earning him NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. The 97-yard interception return was the second-longest in franchise history, and he became the third rookie since sacks became an official stat in 1982 to record two-plus sacks and a pick-six in a regular or postseason game. Witherspoon went on to win NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month in October and later earned his first Pro Bowl nod.
In 2022, Shead helped the Seahawks clinch a playoff appearance after finishing the season with a 9-8 record. He coached cornerback Riq Woolen, who set a franchise rookie record with six interceptions, which were tied for the most in the NFL that season. In Week 6 vs. Arizona, Woolen recorded five tackles, one fumble recovery and one interception, earning him NFC Defensive Player of the Week. Woolen totaled three interceptions and two fumble recoveries in October, earning him NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month. After a standout season, Woolen was named to the PWFA All-Rookie team and earned the first Pro Bowl nod of his career.
In 2021, Shead began his coaching career with Seattle as defensive assistant/defensive backs coach, where he helped safety Quandre Diggs earn his second consecutive Pro Bowl nod after he recorded a career-high 94 tackles and tied his career-high five interceptions.
Shead played seven seasons as a cornerback with Seattle (2012-17) and Detroit (2018). He appeared in 66 games with 23 starts – 22 at cornerback and one at strong safety. Shead totaled 146 career tackles (108 solo), one sack, two interceptions, 24 passes defensed and three forced fumbles. He also recorded 25 special teams tackles (20 solo), one blocked punt and one special teams forced fumble.
Shead appeared in 10 postseason games with three starts, including two Super Bowls (XLVIII and XLIX). He recorded 11 tackles (seven solo), four passes defensed and five special teams tackles in playoff games, and won Super Bowl XLVIII in 2013.
Shead attended Portland State, where he was a four-year starter in the defensive backfield and appeared in 44 games, registering 211 tackles, 11 interceptions, four forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries and 29 passes defensed. He transitioned from cornerback to safety toward the end of his junior year, earning him second-team All-Big Sky honors that season and first-team All-Big Sky honors his senior year. Shead signed with the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2012.
A Palmdale, California native, Shead and his wife, Jessica, have three children, Savannah, Carson and Cyrus.
