New York Giants Official Website

Mike Waufle

Mike Waufle has more than 30 years of coaching experience and is in his sixth season with the Giants.

In Waufle's first five years with the team, three different Giants defensive linemen were selected to the Pro Bowl: Michael Strahan in 2005, Osi Umenyiora in 2005 and 2007 and Justin Tuck in 2008. In addition, linemen such as Fred Robbins, Barry Cofield, Mathias Kiwanuka, Jay Alford and Dave Tollefson have played well under Waufle's direction.

With Waufle's defensive linemen leading the way, the Giants had 95 combined sacks the previous two seasons, the second-highest total in the NFL. In 2007, the Giants led the NFL with 53 sacks, their highest total since they had a league-high 54 in 1998. That included a record-setting 12.0 sacks vs. Philadelphia on Sept. 30. Strahan, Tuck and Alford all had big sacks in the Super Bowl XLII victory over New England.

Last year, Tuck led the team with 12.0 sacks and the defensive line with 71 tackles and was voted to his first Pro Bowl and Kiwaunka added a career-high 8.0 sacks. The previous season, Umenyiora had a team-high 13.0 sacks, which left him third in the NFC and fifth in the NFL. It was the fourth consecutive season he had sole possession of the team's sack leadership. Tuck had 10.0 sacks and Strahan 9.0.

Strahan retired following the 2007 season with 141.5 sacks, the NFL's fifth-highest total since sacks became an official statistic in 1982.

The tackles have also excelled under Waufle's tutelage. Robbins and Cofield were both strong run defenders. Robbins had 5.5 sacks for the third consecutive season and Cofield led the Giants' interior linemen with 56 tackles.

In 2006, rookies Kiwanuka and Cofield thrived under Waufle. Kiwanuka, the team's first-round draft choice, played in every game and had four sacks and two interceptions. Cofield arrived as an unheralded fourth-round choice, started every game at nose tackle and was selected as the nose tackle on the Pro Football Weekly/Pro Football Writers of America first All-Rookie team. He was first Giants rookie defensive player to start every game since Lawrence Taylor and defensive lineman Bill Neill in 1981 and was one of 13 rookies to start each of his team's games in 2006.

Prior to joining the Giants, Waufle was the defensive line coach of the Oakland Raiders for six seasons. In those six years (1998-2003), the Raiders made the playoffs three times, winning at least one postseason game in each of those seasons and advancing to Super Bowl XXXVII following the 2002 season. Defensive tackle Darrell Russell was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1998 and 99.

Before his stint with the Raiders, Waufle coached the defensive linemen at the University of California, where he was also the recruiting coordinator. At Cal, he helped develop several NFL defensive linemen, including two first-round picks in the 1996 draft, Duane Clemons and Regan Upshaw.

Waufle is a native of Hornell, N.Y., and was inducted into the high school's Sports Hall of Fame in 1994. He began his coaching career as the defensive line coach at Alfred University in 1979. From 1980-84, he was an assistant at Utah State, working one season as the assistant secondary coach, two with the offensive line and two as the defensive line coach. From 1985-88, Waufle was the defensive line coach and worked with the special teams at Fresno State. He was the defensive line coach at UCLA (1989) and Oregon State (1990-91) before moving to Cal.

After graduating from high school, Waufle served from 1972-75 in the United States Marines before beginning his collegiate football career at Bakersfield Junior College, which won the junior college national title and played in the Junior Rose Bowl in 1976. He then played defensive line at Utah State, where he was named captain as a senior.

Waufle and his wife, Kathy, have two daughters: Michele, who lives with her husband, Ken Maghuyop, daughters Kaitlin and Kennah, and son Cody in California, and Marsha, who is married to Sean Peterson and is a senior clinical research associate for Parexel International who lives in Alaska. The Waufles live in Oakland, N.J.

                                    WAUFLE AT A GLANCE  

1979..............................Alfred University.............defensive line coach
1980..............................Utah State.....................secondary coach
1981-82...........................Utah State....................offensive line coach
1983-84...........................Utah State....................defensive line coach
1985-88...........................Fresno State..................defensive line coach
1989...............................UCLA........................defensive line coach
1990-91...........................Oregon State.................defensive line coach
1992-97...........................California.....................defensive line coach
1998-2003........................Oakland Raiders.............defensive line coach
2004-09............................New York Giants............defensive line coach