Michael Rene Mularkey (born November 19, 1961) is a former American football coach and tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Florida, and was drafted in the ninth round of the 1983 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers and lasted until the final round of cuts. Mularkey then signed with the Minnesota Vikings with whom he played for six seasons before playing another three with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mularkey has since served as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans, the offensive coordinator for the Steelers, Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons, and the tight ends coach for the Dolphins, Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Falcons. Early years Mularkey was born in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He attended Northeast High School in Oakland Park, Florida, and played quarterback for the Northeast Hurricanes high school football team. College career Mularkey attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played tight end for coach Charley Pell's Florida Gators football team from 1980 to 1982. Mularkey finished his college career with 55 catches for 628 yards and three touchdowns. Professional career In 1983, Mularkey was a ninth-round draft pick for the San Francisco 49ers, but was released before appearing in a game. He went on to play with the Minnesota Vikings until the conclusion of the 1988 season. In 1989, Mularkey signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a free agent for the final three years of his playing career. In his nine NFL seasons, Mularkey played in 114 regular-season games, started 46 of them, and caught 102 passes for 1,222 yards and nine touchdowns. Career statistics Coaching career Concordia University-St. Paul, Minnesota Mularkey was given his first coaching position as an offensive/defensive line coach at Concordia University in St. Paul Minnesota for the 1993–94 season. He worked under head coach Tom Cross. Mularkey held the offensive/defensive lineman coaching position for one season. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Mularkey started his NFL coaching career in 1994 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a quality control coach for both the offense and defense. In 1995, he was promoted to tight ends coach and held the position for one season. Pittsburgh Steelers Mularkey was hired as the Steelers' tight ends coach in 1996 and held the position until the end of the 2000 season, when he replaced Kevin Gilbride as the team's offensive