Super Bowl champ hired to coach Vallivue football. He’s already rebuilt one Idaho program
Shea McClellin already turned around one Treasure Valley high school football program. Now he has his eyes set on the next.
Vallivue High hired the former NFL defensive lineman and linebacker as its next coach, the school announced Friday. The hire still needs school board approval at its next meeting Jan. 9.
The former Super Bowl champ and Boise State star spent the past two seasons engineering a remarkable rebuild at Marsing. He went 6-12 in two seasons there, earning the 2A Western Idaho Conference coach of the year honors this fall after leading his alma mater to the 2A state playoffs for the first time in 11 years and snapping a 42-game conference losing streak.
McClellin, 34, said it was tough to leave his hometown school. But he always wanted to lead a larger program.
“I have no ambitions or goals to coach in college or the NFL,” McClellin said. “I’ve had my opportunities, and I’ve turned them down. I just love the kids.
“I think back to what Coach (Chris Petersen) did for me at Boise State. I’m just trying to build good-character men for society. And if we win a few football games along the way, that’s great.”
McClellin inherits another program in need of a rebuild. The Falcons went 3-6 overall and 1-4 in the 4A Southern Idaho Conference in Brynie Robinson’s lone season at Vallivue. McClellin said his first task is getting more players to turn out for the football program.
“They’ve got a bunch of tough kids. That’s one thing, for sure,” McClellin said. “There’s a good mixture of kids there, athletically and with their toughness. If we can combine that and make them gel, some special things can happen.”
McClellin graduated from Marsing in 2007 and was a first-round draft pick out of Boise State in 2012. He spent four seasons in Chicago before playing one season and winning a Super Bowl with New England. He retired in 2018 due to concussion issues and joined the coaching staff at Mountain View that fall, kick starting his coaching career.
“I love coaching,” McClellin said. “I love being the leader of the team. To be able to lead by example and teach kids what I didn’t know at their age — to me, there’s nothing better.”
Vallivue Athletic Director Kris Knowles said the school had plenty of qualified candidates to choose from. But he said McClellin’s experience, presence and roots in the Treasure Valley fit the Falcons best.
“He fits well here because he fits the vision that I have for the school of having high-character people, leading by example and a blue-collar mindset of working harder than anyone else,” Knowles said. “He’s a perfect example of that.”
This story was originally published December 22, 2023 at 2:20 PM.
